We spoke to volunteer Mark Honigsbaum about why he volunteers at Chiswick House & Gardens and the impact this role has had on his life.

I’ve known Chiswick House & Gardens for most of my life. I first visited as a young boy when I was at school in Hammersmith, and in the last 20 years since living in West London, I’ve visited regularly, mainly with my dog. My wife and I would walk him round the grounds at least twice a week. After we moved to Chiswick two years ago I started bringing him more regularly, but unfortunately he passed away last summer, leaving me heartbroken. Suddenly, I was one of those old men walking alone.

I had noticed the volunteers in their different coloured jackets and often wondered what they were up to and how you got to be a Goosefoot. After my dog died, I began looking for other activities I could do outside. I play tennis regularly but I love Chiswick House and really appreciate the grounds – they’re a great community asset. As a frequent user, I wanted to make a contribution, give something back. On a personal level, it provided an opportunity to be in nature with other people, with the possibility of those social contacts we all need, especially as we move into retirement.

Volunteering has been a real boon to my mental health. Even on days where it’s cold or threatening to pour, I make the effort to drag myself out of bed and turn up at nine. I never regret it.

What I enjoy most is the camaraderie. Mucking in with a group of people from different walks of life is a great social leveller. When you’re crouched on all fours pulling up weeds, conversations flow very naturally. It’s enough that you’re both there in that space. Volunteering has been a real boon to my mental health. Even on days where it’s cold or threatening to pour, I make the effort to drag myself out of bed and turn up at nine. I never regret it.

I’ve also acquired some great new skills. In December, we worked on the wisteria in the Italian garden learning when to cut the plants back and which branches to remove. In January, I also helped with coppicing the area down by the lake, opening up sight lines to the Ionic Temple and Obelisk. It’s great to have expert guidance from the staff gardeners. I’ve learned which plants are weeds and how clearing ground while leaving the foxgloves provides great ground cover and a real show in the spring. There isn’t a session where you don’t learn something.

There’s a real sense of achievement and pride. You walk around the grounds and think, ‘I helped do that.’

Some of my most memorable moments have come in the Italian garden. Weeding, composting the beds to suppress weeds, and planting bulbs in the grass verge. One day we had four to five thousand bulbs to plant in the space of two hours, with each of Goosefoot taking two‑metre sections of the bank. Another highlight was cutting back the wisteria in front of the conservatory, getting behind it and pulling up the long tendrils that had grown the length of both sides. We curled them into hoops so they could be taken away and turned into wreaths. It was nice knowing that visitors would have a little bit of Christmas to take home with them.

There’s a real sense of achievement and pride. You walk around the grounds and think, ‘I helped do that.’ Volunteering, being out in nature, frees your mind. It also stops you doom scrolling. It’s healthy, refreshing, and at the end of it you feel much more connected, not only to other people but to this marvellous resource we’re so lucky to have in West London.