Engaging with Nature West Berkshire

Transforming lives with the healing power of nature

Engaging with Nature was a two-year BBOWT project aiming to harness the healing power of nature to support people’s mental health. It was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

The funding allowed us to reach over 140 people across West Berkshire with 10-week programs using a blend of nature therapy, horticultural therapy and expressive arts, as well as conservation activities, to support positive wellbeing and encourage pro-environmental behaviour.

Engaging with Nature had four main aims:

1. Strengthen Nature Connection: Nature connectedness is a measurable psychological construct that moves beyond contact with nature to an individual’s sense of their relationship with the natural world. Research shows a strong connection with nature improves wellbeing and encourages pro-environmental behaviours. This project aims to strengthen people’s relationship with nature.
2. Improve Wellbeing: Across multiple studies, researchers have found a fascinating link between access to green space - such as fields, forests, parks and gardens - and a reduced risk of mental health problems, as well as improved mood and increased life satisfaction. This project will support people’s wellbeing using the Five Ways to Wellbeing and Five Pathways to Nature Connection as a framework.
3. Reduce Loneliness: Loneliness is a serious public health concern with social isolation being linked to higher rates of mortality. This project will connect people not only to nature, but to each other, creating a community and reducing loneliness.
4. Encourage Pro-Environmental Behaviour: From feeding birds in their garden to volunteering with the Trust, this project aims to encourage people to look after our local wildlife and planet.

Success in West Berkshire led to a new project in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Click below for details.

Engaging with Nature in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

How the project worked

The 10-week programme took an evidence-based approach to improving wellbeing and encouraging pro-environmental behaviours by using the Five Ways to Wellbeing and Five Pathways to Nature Connection as a framework:

The programme was user-led, with a variety of social, conservation and nature-connection activities such as scrub clearance, habitat creation, foraging and cookouts through to sensory invitations, mindfulness in nature, eco-art, creative nature writing and nature photography.

Project impact

Engaging with Nature was based at BBOWT's Nature Discovery Centre in Thatcham but also covered West Berkshire. In particular, we worked at Carramar House in Thatcham, a residential setting for people with mental health problems.

During the last year of the project, the delivery of the cohorts moved away from the Nature Discovery Centre, Thatcham to community locations. This led to the project engaging and supporting more diverse groups including vulnerable members of society. The sessions themselves have shown to have a positive impact for the participants involved, their carers and support staff. Together, BBOWT and the various cohorts have increased biodiversity and encouraged wildlife in their own communities.

Sessions have helped participants feel less isolated, especially post Covid, and become better informed about nature and how to support it for themselves. Friendships have been formed through collectively acting to improve shared green spaces whilst improving individuals’ wellbeing and building self-confidence.

Once sessions finished, the participants continued to connect with nature local to them by maintaining and expanding the areas created for wildlife in the programs. For example, the community at Southcote GrowAllot have maintained the newly restored pond and bog area resulting in frogs and toads taking up residence. The sessions at Berkshire Women’s Aid (BWA) included planting a pollinator bed. This has now become a focal point in the refuge garden, maintained by the residents, and supported by volunteers from Microsoft and Verizon in Reading. Members of the Hong Kong Community in Reading still regularly send pictures of the birds and flowers they’ve seen to BBOWT staff for help with identification.

One of the greatest achievements of the project is seeing the positive benefits felt by participants, even after a short period of time. Here is some of their feedback:

“I hope the Engaging with Nature project continues to help others benefit from being outside in nature. I haven’t seen my mother like this in years, she’s normally shut in her room depressed and withdrawn.”
Julia, daughter of a resident at Abbeycrest Nursing Home

“This course has deepened our students’ and staff’s learning and engagement with nature. Our students have enjoyed building bird feeders, growing cress, looking for bugs and using homemade binoculars to recognise the different birds in our woods. The team from the Wildlife Trust have been fantastic working with our students and adapting the course to suit our students’ needs. It has been a great collaboration and I hope we can work with them again in the future.”
Wendy Moffatt, Prior’s Court Land-Based Learning Specialist

“The sessions helped me to connect with the outside and feel less isolated. I have migrated to the UK for a month. We do not discuss or learn enough about ways to help the environment or wildlife in Hong Kong. Thank you so much for opening this subject up to us.”
Vivienne, Hong Kong Community, Reading

“After you left yesterday afternoon, two of our residents reported being in the best mood they have been in for a long time. One of them was discussing with staff about the camera that he had used and how he found it really interesting to learn. The other expressed his love for gardening and how he feels better when doing it.”
Volunteer, Carramar House

“The programme encouraged some more reserved residents and their children to come and join the shared outdoor activities. This had a very positive impact on their wellbeing as they noted how much better they felt for coming outside and being in nature.”
Social Worker, Berkshire Women’s Aid

Photo gallery

Our project partners

Engaging with Nature worked with...