Forest bathing at Biddulph Grange Country Park - Sarah Davison
Wild wellbeing
Experience the healing power of nature
Our mission is to promote positive mental health in Staffordshire through nature based activity delivery, training and by working in partnership with organisations to support and enable them to meet their own mental health and wellbeing needs.
Where possible our delivery is linked to the NHS’s 5 steps to mental wellbeing to help improve mental health and wellbeing for families and participants of all ages. Our People Engagement activities will give participants the opportunity to feel more positive and reinforce the positive way nature can improve a person’s mental wellbeing.
You can learn more about the proven benefits of nature on our wellbeing in the research summary below.
It is lovely to see how an activity was adapted to benefit the different ages of my children, as well as me as a parent and my mum as a grandparent. We all got so much out of it and it was a great mental health boost.
Photo by Sarah Davison
From short walks to creating natural art and being mindful. Join us on one of our wild wellbeing events. Designed for adults, this is the perfect opportunity to be at one with nature and have some well-deserved relaxation time. You can find upcoming dates by checking our events page.
5 ways to Wild Wellbeing with Staffordshire Wildlife trust
1. Connect People
Good relationships are important for mental wellbeing.
- Our delivery will support positive links to nature and enhance participant’s appreciation of local ‘wild spaces’.
- Help like-minded people meet up to support local ‘wildlife’ projects and benefit from sharing positive experiences.
- Provide opportunities for friends and family of all ages to spend time together outside enjoying nature.
- We can provide volunteering opportunities to encourage personal development and inspire increased confidence.
2. Be physically active
Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness. Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing:
- Our delivery will enable participants to raising their self-esteem through a positive experience in nature
- Provide an opportunity to engage in low impact activities whilst enjoying local ‘wild spaces’
3. Learning new skills can also improve mental wellbeing:
Research shows that learning new skills can also improve your mental wellbeing:
- Our delivery will enable participants of all ages to learn new skills and provide activities that can be shared with family and colleagues
- Inspire more outdoor activity and the benefits that brings. Boosting self-confidence and raising self-esteem plus putting like-minded people in touch with one another.
4. Give to others
Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help improve your mental wellbeing by:
- Staffordshire Wildlife Trust events are all about engaging with nature in a positive way, in this instance the giving can relate to nature as in creating habitat, respecting nature and learning how you can do your own bit in your garden or wild space to protect and enhance wildlife.
- On a larger community scale this can help connect people and give a feeling of purpose and ownership of a local space and enjoying this place with friends and family.
5. Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)
Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.
Research has also shown that mindfulness mediates the relationship between nature connectedness and wellbeing. People with a strong connection to nature are more likely to spend time in nature, and thus experience the wider benefits of exposure to nature. (linkSpringer.com Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E. & Richardson, M)
- One of SWT’s fundamental goals is to get people involved in nature, support their interest and inspire all ages.
95% of participants with low levels of mental wellbeing when they started a Wildlife Trust programme reported an improvement
in their mental health in six weeks
A Natural Health Service: A summary of research carried out by University of Essex and Leeds Beckett University for The Wildlife Trusts
FREE resources
Download our guide below to connect with nature to take care of your wellbeing, or view it online via Issu.
Wild Wellbeing guide
Online workshops
We also have two recorded online workshops which you can watch via Youtube (see below):
- Nature connection workshop - for anyone who wants to learn more about nature connection and use that knowledge to help others when they're feeling unwell, or simply to help learn how they can themselves.
- Green social prescribing - dive in to learn what green social prescribing is and how you can bring elements of nature connection into your role as a social prescriber. Whether you're a link worker, a volunteer/charity worker or simply want to signpost others you work with or are supporting.
These are both provided via the Wilder Neighbourhoods project, with thanks to funding from Know Your Neighbourhood fund.