A woman wearing green gardening gloves with her hands in the soil planting a tomato plant

Nature Buddies

Download the toolkit

The Nature Buddies toolkit can be used by organisations and providers to set up a Nature Buddies programme, supporting people to take part in nature-based activities.

Download here

The Nature Buddies Toolkit was developed as part of the Nature Buddies pilot project led by Natural England in collaboration with NASP, Nottingham CVS, Sea Change Devon, Active Devon, Nottingham Refugee ForumUK SUP Fitness, Stepping into Nature and B:Friend Doncaster.

The Nature Buddies pilot project emerged in response to what we learnt about the barriers which individuals face in being able to access green social prescribing (GSP) services from the GSP test-and-learn programme The test-and-learn programme not only enabled us to better understand the range and complexity of the challenges people face to access services, but also increased our awareness of the sheer numbers of people these challenges affect. These barriers range from anxiety and fear, through to issues with infrastructure, such as transportation.

Different models for Nature Buddies were scoped with local partners in Nottingham through a co-design process led by Nottingham CVS with NASP. Following scoping, Natural England commissioned pilot projects with Nature Buddies partners to explore how buddies could help people who experience social isolation and anxiety to improve their mental health by accessing nature-based activities outside and by connecting with the natural world. The learning developed from this work, as well as discussions with a wide range of stakeholders has been fed into a Nature Buddies toolkit.

This toolkit and resource pack can be used by charities, community organisations, local authorities, physical activity partnerships, green providers, community volunteer services, health providers and social prescribers. If you have questions or would like further information about Nature Buddies, please contact Rachel Cook

Watch our animation about Nature Buddies

Play Video: Nature Buddies

Further resources

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