Nature for Health is a collaborative project that engages with individuals and communities to promote the role access to nature can play in improving health and wellbeing.

The programme welcomes people of all abilities to get involved with conservation and healthy outdoor lifestyle activities on your doorstep.

We all know that spending time in the outdoors is beneficial and use of local green spaces is increasing, highlighting how much we value and rely on them. Nature for Health offers opportunities to take part in activities helping to create lifelong physical activity habits using our natural resources, and for everyone to continue benefitting from the positive impact green spaces have on stress, anxiety and our overall mood.

Physical activity combined with access to green spaces is a recommended non-pharmacological method which can aid recovery from illness, and is associated with reduced levels of depression, anxiety, fatigue and improved quality of life in children and adults.

Spending time in the outdoors can help to manage many chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, mental health, isolation and loneliness, while also benefitting citizens physically by lowering risk levels of cardiovascular disease through maintaining a healthier and active lifestyle. Nature for Health activities offer short bouts of movement which are recommended to increase physical activity

In continued efforts to improve community wellbeing we have been encouraging people to notice ‘3 good things’ when outdoors and have also installed some reclined observing chairs as research suggests that connecting with nature has also shown increased pro-conservation behaviours along with positive effects on health and eudemonic wellbeing in comparison to just time spent in nature.

With a variety of activities on offer to teach traditional skills such as willow weaving, scything and hedge laying, we also work closely with other project teams to deliver art in nature activities.

Health care professionals and other organisations can refer service users through social prescribing pathways. Our referral and registration forms can be found in the Useful downloads section at the bottom of the page.
To find out more contact natureforhealth@denbighshire.gov.uk