Natural Health Service for North Yorkshire Launched
Nature connection activity taking place in the North York Moors National Park.
A new programme will harness the power of North Yorkshire’s natural landscapes to help people live healthier, more active, and more connected lives.
The Natural Health Service for North Yorkshire is a regional green social prescribing programme. Through nature-based activities, it is designed to enhance physical and mental health, reduce social isolation, increase social and economic activity, and create healthier, more active communities across the region.
Activities will offer sensory and hands-on experiences, from foraging and art to habitat management, delivered through a phased approach that gently builds confidence, skills, and deeper connections with nature and others.
This will be delivered by a partnership, led the North York Moors Trust, bringing together the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authorities, and the Howardian Hills and Nidderdale National Landscapes, the region’s family of Protected Landscapes.
Together, these landscapes cover half of North Yorkshire, with the region uniquely placed to develop and trial a service that improves public health by unlocking the benefits of spending time in nature-rich environments.
The programme received £100,000 from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It forms part of Mayor David Skaith’s Moving Forward campaign, a £7million investment to create healthy and thriving communities.
10-week nature sessions will be delivered in towns, villages, and coastal communities both within the Protected Landscapes and across the wider region, which are designed to enhance health and wellbeing, build connection and increase social and economic activity of participants referred into the service.
Participants will create personalised ‘Nature Plans’ - a simple set of achievable steps to keep engaging with nature and to connect with other community activities that sustain the benefits of being active outdoors.
The programme will engage professionals across the health, social care, and community sectors, including GPs, link workers, social prescribers, job advisers, and probation services, to help them understand the benefits of nature connection and how it can be used as a health asset to support treatment, recovery, and the prevention of health and social challenges within their services. A standardised referral pathway will be developed to streamline access to nature-based interventions.
Both the National Health Service and the legislation establishing National Parks and National Landscapes were created from the post-war government’s aim to enhance health and quality of life through access to essential services and green spaces. The Natural Health Service programme builds on that vision, recognising protected landscapes as a health asset.
The programme has been shaped on successful regional pilots such as Nature Prescriptions and Growing Green and Blue Health, and draws on a strong body of evidence showing that time spent connecting with nature reduces stress and anxiety, improves mood, lowers blood pressure, promotes good gut health, and boosts confidence. This approach can be a cost-effective way of reducing demand on NHS and other services.
Running until April 2026, the partnership aims to lay the groundwork to make the Natural Health Service for North Yorkshire a viable, long-term service.
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said:
“We’re incredibly lucky to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country - from our coastline to our countryside - and spending time outdoors is one of the best things we can do for our physical and mental health.
“This partnership and our Natural Health Service is about making that connection easier for everyone, wherever they live, so that nature becomes part of how we look after ourselves and each other.
“This is a great example of how we can use what makes our region special to build healthier and thriving communities.”
James Metcalfe, Executive Director of the North York Moors Trust, said:
“The Natural Health Service for North Yorkshire is an exciting programme that will help people live healthier, more active, and connected lives. With half of our region made up of Protected Landscapes, we are uniquely placed to realise the health benefits that nature and these special places can provide - and hopefully will serve as a greenprint nationally for how nature can be utilised as an asset to improve health and life outcomes.”
Heather McNiff, Head of Engagement and Wellbeing at the North York Moors National Park Authority, said:
“We’re proud to be working as part of the Protected Landscapes family to deliver this inspiring programme. The Natural Health Service recognises that our landscapes aren’t just places of great beauty, they are powerful spaces for connection, physical health and wellbeing.”
Julie Hutton, Member Champion at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said:
“We are excited to take people to places where they can benefit from experiencing the special qualities of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It’s good to be working in partnership with healthcare providers and protected landscape bodies. We look forward to setting up a group with the Wharfedale, Airedale and Craven Alliance primary care network.”
Ellie Hook, Landscape Manager at the Howardian Hills National Landscape, said:
"The Howardian Hills are made up of a diverse, nature-rich landscape of valleys, woodlands, rivers, rolling fields, parklands, and historic villages. This mosaic of natural and cultural heritage provides a unique environment that can enhance people's health and wellbeing. We look forward to helping deliver the Natural Health Service and ensuring that more people living within and around the Howardian Hills can share these benefits and, together, help lift the health of our region."
ENDS.
Notes to Editor:
Natural Health Service:
The Natural Health Service is an innovative green social prescribing programme that supports health, activity, and connection by harnessing the benefits of nature and nature-rich protected landscapes.
The programme offers structured, guided outdoor activities tailored to individual needs and provides participants with personalised “Nature Plans” to help sustain engagement with nature. It also delivers ongoing training and engagement for professionals, equipping them with the knowledge to use nature as a health asset to support treatment, recovery, and the prevention of health and social challenges within their services.
Delivered in partnership by the North York Moors Trust, the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authorities, and the Howardian Hills and Nidderdale National Landscapes, the programme draws on the unique natural assets of over half of North Yorkshire.
Moving Forward:
Moving Forward aims to create healthy, thriving communities within our region, and to grow the region’s economy. £7 million is being invested into four key areas:
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) are working with regional experts and partners to improve people’s wellbeing and to empower and strengthen communities, which will in turn have a positive impact on the regional economy.
YNYCA continue to explore additional programmes and activity to overcome the challenges in active travel, movement and sport, men’s mental health and connecting people to the outdoors, and expect to develop further programmes in the future.
For further information, please contact:
James Metcalfe, North York Moors Trust