In Scottish Gaelic, àrachadh is the word for tending in the agricultural and horticultural sense, but also means nourishing, nurturing, fostering and empowering. Tending was a socially engaged art project involving a partnership with Viewfield Garden Collective (VGC) from April - November 2021. VGC is a charity offering therapeutic gardening activities for vulnerable adults in Skye and Lochalsh to support health and wellbeing, promote citizenship and offer a friendly space to learn and educate.

The art project involved face-to-face participation with VGC volunteers, staff and trustees at the garden site. Participants engaged in workshops, creative making sessions and conversations as well as gardening. I also worked to gather ideas and input from the collective to co-design a sensory trail to develop the mindfulness aspect of the garden. Tending considered how gardening and creative practice could help us to tend and care for ourselves, each other, and the land in the midst of a pandemic and climate crisis. The aim of the project was to support positive health and wellbeing, encourage sociability and creativity as well as connection with the garden, nature and place.