Somerset veterans find healing in community orchard project

Military veterans transforming overgrown woodland into a community orchard say the project has helped them confront and heal from their past experiences.

Located just outside Dunster Castle near Minehead, Somerset, Project Orchard is run by the NHS Somerset Armed Forces Team and the National Trust, and brings veterans together to provide mutual support and create something lasting for the local community.

Ian Edmonds, who served in the Gulf War, said it was helping people meet each other and step outside their comfort zone.

“They’ve experienced a lot of what you’ve experienced, so when you talk to them, you can open up and be truthful,” he said.

Mr Edmonds was responsible for helping repatriate those who died in service during the Gulf War.

“If we can save one person, we’ve saved the world,” he said.

“It’s not sadness we’re feeling – it’s pain, and that’s very difficult to get across to other people [non-service personnel].”

Dan Stone joined the army when he was 16 and served for eight years, including tours in Afghanistan.

He was injured in an bomb explosion and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“For me, it’s getting out of the house and actually interacting,” he said.

“It’s having that camaraderie, that banter – it’s nice. We’re different generations of forces, but we’re all the same family.”

The project is an outreach programme run by the National Trust and NHS Somerset, who employ two people as armed forces officers to look after local armed forces communities and their families – about 9% of the county’s population.

Eventually it will be a community space with free entry.

“The idea behind it is to get people outside in the open air, doing something in nature,” said Rebecca Oliver, NHS armed forces officer.

“It’s a great opportunity for people from different areas of the county to meet each other and chat.”