“When I’m here, I don’t feel alone”

There’s a park in Oxford that one of the participants in our Healing in the Outdoors programme knows well, but after taking part in the project’s nature-based events this year, she stopped to reflect on it again: “I come to this park a lot, but now I’ll see it in a new way.”  

Changing how people are feeling is part of what Healing in the Outdoors tries to achieve. Over the past year, we’ve delivered 39 days in nature around UK sites, helping more than 1,000 people to engage with the landscapes around them. Working alongside organisations like Refugee Resource and Asylum Welcome, as well as local partners like Oxfordshire’s EMBS Community College, we’ve focussed on groups who often face barriers to accessing green spaces. 

Older people, refugees and asylum seekers, those living with disabilities and families on lower incomes, can all face practical challenges with transport and the cost of reaching nature sites, alongside less visible ones like the anxiety that can come from being in unfamiliar places. So, along with providing refreshments and transport, we design our events around what participants might get the most out of; from tree planting and conservation work to wildlife discovery, outdoor cooking or wellbeing walks – making sure every outing is as accessible as possible.  

And it works, people consistently report feeling calmer, happier and more connected after the day – perhaps unsurprising given what we know about the positive effects nature can have on our mental health. Many participants are then keen to bring back family or friends independently, having seen how they might engage with the outdoors on their own terms.  

One striking example comes from the Bridge Street Community Garden in Banbury, Oxfordshire. After a group of refugees and asylum seekers came to one of our local activities, they started to visit the garden all the time, soon adopting a planter to look after, making new friends and building their place in the community.  

As one participant reflected after a day outdoors, “when I’m here, I don’t feel alone.” 

Often our relationship with nature grows this way, through small moments that people can connect with and repeat – it’s not just about trees and green spaces, but what it means to experience them with other people. 

Since we believe in this approach, we’ve also been supporting other organisations with the training and guides they might need to create their own outdoor programmes. Our thanks go to Swire Charitable Trust and CAG Oxfordshire for making this work possible. 

Healing in the Outdoors has already shown that spending time in nature is about far more than visiting beautiful places, it’s also about building confidence, creating  friendships and helping people feel part of their local community.