This session explores how buddying roles can facilitate people to access to services that improve people’s health and wellbeing. We will look at two examples of buddying, specifically Nature Buddies and Heritage Buddies.
Natural England have supported the development and piloting of Nature Buddies. Nature Buddies are specially trained volunteers to enable people, on a one-to-one basis or as part of a small group, to overcome barriers to taking part in nature-based activities, such as lack of confidence to get outside, to explore natural spaces and to connect with nature.
Historic England also discuss their pilot called Heritage Buddies. A Heritage Buddy is someone who can help a person to take part in a heritage activity, such as visiting a local heritage site or joining a local history group.
A common theme of the success of social prescribing is the integration into the health system and taking a multiagency approach. The session suggests how investment in buddies can support health priorities through multi-agency collaboration alignment with local health systems.
Hear from:
- Rachel Cook, Health and Environment Senior Advisor at Natural England
- Julie Hammon, Dorset National Landscape Stepping into Nature Project Coordinator
- Amanda Chambers, Health and Wellbeing Programme Manager at Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service
- Desi Gradinarova, National Lead for the Historic Environment at the National Academy for Social Prescribing
- Ruthe Sawyer, Project Manager: Integrated Mental Health Commissioning at ICS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
This webinar will be particularly useful for:
- Anyone in the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector with an interest in green social prescribing
- Social Prescribing Link Workers
- Integrated Care system and Integrated Care Board members looking at cross sectoral
- NHS, government and arms-length body staff
Useful resources
- Nature Buddies
- Natural Environment NASP
- New evidence for nature based social prescribing
- Green Social Prescribing in Humber and North Yorkshire
- Green Social Prescribing at Clevedon Marina with Open Minds Active
- Green Social Prescribing in Bristol: Nordic Walking Wellness Project
- Green Social Prescribing - Surrey Heartlands Project
- Green Social Prescribing Roots4Life: Green Mondays
- Heritage and wellbeing - Historic England
- Heritage and Social Prescribing
