Green Walking, Green Gyms and Green Spaces for Health

This event was part of Greener AHP Week 2024.
The Green Walking in Mental Health Recovery initiative aims to promote and improve access to green spaces for general adult psychiatric inpatients. Walking groups require a relatively small amount of preparation and cost. Moreover, they incorporate the benefits of physical activity into flexible experiences which can accommodate and reflect a range of choices and care needs. Their relative simplicity helps to create the much-needed space where patients and staff can focus on collaborative care models.

Find out more in the Guide to Green Walking: https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/green-walking

Join the Mental Health Sustainability Network: https://networks.sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/mental-health-sustainabil…

Join the Green Space for Health Network: https://networks.sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/green-space-health/

Presenters

Ben Whittaker is Sustainable Healthcare Delivery Lead/Allied Health Professions Lead at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. He works across the SusQI and Specialties programmes to support and supervise fellows/scholars, and deliver Green Team competitions and SusQI training. Ben oversees the Green Walking in Mental Health Recovery initiative and some of the CSH networks, including Allied Health Professions Susnet. Ben also works as a senior occupational therapist for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Claire Michie is a professional lead occupational therapist for acute mental health services in Brighton and Hove. She has worked for Sussex Partnership Trust for the last 10 years. During this time, she has also developed and increased access to green, nature based interventions for service users to support their mental health recovery. Claire’s occupational therapy team recently won a Positive Practice Award, sustainability category for implementing green walking groups across wards and improving green spaces within the hospital.

Dan Loveard is Green Space for Health Project Lead at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. He is an experienced community lead having spent a decade managing and delivering a diverse range of environmental and health projects across the UK. At Warwickshire Wildlife Trust he played an active role both operationally and strategically in bringing about nature’s recovery and connecting people from all walks of life with nature.