As we look back on Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 we send our very best wishes to you as we take gentle steps forward at our own pace. We will be joined our friends at Derbyshire Mind for a week of wellbeing activities during the Pandemic in 2021 . Some great Connections were made and this year Katherine Parrish , Chair of the Director's Board at Whistlewood Common invited me to write about out Green Connections Ecotherapy partnership project with Derbyshire Mind.
Green Connections Supporting Mental Health at Whistlewood Common
As we mark Mental Health Awareness week 2022, we have been reflecting on the most difficult days of the pandemic. Nature provided support for the wellbeing of our communities and many of us explored new and exciting places on our doorsteps. A positive partnership with Derbyshire Mind formed during these difficult days to offer Nature connection opportunities for people to rest, relax and just “BE” at Whistlewood Common for their mental health.
Jenny Ryan, Community Services Manager for Derbyshire Mind is a regular visitor to Whistlewood Common having been the photographer at the first Whistlewood wedding. She felt that Whistlewood Common was the perfect venue for mental wellbeing.
Our inclusive “Green Connections” Eco-therapy service has been developed as a partnership between Wellbeing at Whistlewood and Derbyshire Mind. Whistlewood members; Helen Saunders, Anne Bramley, Andrene Alejandro and Sarah Spencer, have contributed their knowledge and skills including forest bathing, forest therapy, permaculture, compassionate communication and expressive art to develop a Green mental health service led by Nature’s seasons. Generous funding from Toyota UK and Derbyshire Mind supported us to offer free places for our participants. Derbyshire Mind trained three volunteers with valuable lived experience to join our team.
In May 2021 we were ready to offer our services, but we had to wait patiently for restrictions to be lifted. We offered online wellbeing events and our participants shared that they had become less reliant on driving and had appreciated spending less time travelling in their cars to go walking and enjoying the natural environment.
The University of Derby’s Nature Connection research unit has observed this reciprocity including increased compassion for Nature, taking action to protect Nature and adopt recycling and other pro environmental behaviors. Nature is good for our mental and physical wellbeing and only short times are needed if we really notice Nature using our senses.
Our Eco-Therapy service was finally launched at Whistlewood in July 2021 and has made a significant difference to our participants. Self-referrals and referrals via health professionals, link workers and social prescribers are easily booked via Derbyshire Mind’s website which has full details and photos of our services. https://www.derbyshiremind.org.uk/services/community-mental-wellbeing-services/green-connections/.
A second year of funding from Toyota UK and Derbyshire Mind, has been secured to further develop our services. Our participants and professional partners have “branched out” to become involved in volunteering, the community gardens and become shareholders at Whistlewood Common. So many positive Green Connections have been made and our networks are growing each day.
Thanks to everyone at Whistlewood Common for supporting us to develop these essential services for people and for Nature.
Photos and news from our Green Connections events are posted on Wellbeing at Whistlewood social media.
As the Green Connections Ecotherapy team , we work with our friends at Derbyshire Mind to offer wellbeing experiences to people living with mental health challenges. Our inclusive “Green Connections” wellbeing days are ready to be offered after restrictions have lifted. We have jointly secured full funding to offer free places for community groups and individual people whose mental health could be supported by spending time in Nature within our woodland setting . Our team includes valued Derbyshire Mind volunteers who provide support , welcome and time for our participants. Green wellbeing professionals within our team include Andrene Alejandro from National Forest Therapies, a Forest Bathing Guide and Forest Therapy Practitioner brings a wealth of wellbeing professional experience and her calming presence. Sarah Spencer , Permaculture expert, Designer , Trainer and author from Think Like a Tree has brought fresh energy and perspective to our team. Here perspectives on people and permaculture have helped many of us to reframe our outlook on life, wellbeing and to training in ethical approaches to business.
We are also reaching out to support our wellbeing professionals community within Wellbeing at Whistlewood and through our National body , The Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT). It has been an extremely challenging year for professionals who provide care and wellbeing services for others as we prepare for a time when our services will be needed more than ever. As the winners of the FHT “Green Therapy Business of the Year “ award 2020 , we have been working with our National colleagues to support “Green Recovery “ plans for wellbeing professionals and their clients. We will be speaking at the 2021 FHT National Virtual Congress in June where we will be speaking about the benefits of Nature connection for wellbeing professionals and their clients.
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