Nature Prescription Project
The Nature Prescription project is a partnership between the North York Moors Trust, North York Moors National Park Authority, and RSPB, funded by Skipton-based business, Beyondly.
A Nature Prescription (also known as Green Social Prescribing) is a guided conversation between a GP or other healthcare professional and their patient. As part of their treatment plan patients are encouraged and supported to connect with the natural world to benefit their mental and physical wellbeing, as well as potentially cultivating personal and lasting connections with nature that inspire a desire to protect it. It is a non-medical approach that people can do from anywhere, on their own, or with others.
As part of the project, RSPB will train 15 healthcare professionals about the recommended nature-based prescriptions and how to guide patients through the activities.
The project is being run in tandem with work in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
As part of the project, the project will create a seasonal calendar of accessible and self-led activities to prescribe in and around the North York Moors National Park which will enable people to explore ways of connecting with nature that are personal and meaningful to them – such as searching for leaves, discovering new walks, or listening to the sounds of wildlife, practical nature conservation and arts activities.
This project is based on successful trails run by RSPB in Scotland and the Peak District.
This is an 18 month project running from Autumn 2023 until April 2025.
At the end of the project we will evaluate the experiences of patients who follow a Nature Prescription, providing valuable insight into the impact this form of intervention has had on local participant’s overall mental and physical health and wellbeing, the capacity to transform behaviour towards nature in the long-term, and the potential to scale-up the nature-based prescription service locally.
