Adventures in social prescribing!

14 Tach 2022

Coed Lleol is working in partnership with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) to offer students opportunities to access the outdoors, which can support and improve physical and mental health. We also encourage the students to consider volunteering and training with us. The University has kindly allowed us to use their fantastic Cynefin site in Carmarthenshire to run nature crafts, bushcraft and woodcraft skills for Carmarthen residents who join our programmes. 

At the start of November, we visited UWTSD  to run a session for their year 3 Outdoor Adventure Education students. This was a great opportunity to introduce Coed Lleol  and what we do across Wales.

After discussing Social Prescribing and the role our organisation play in supporting people’s health and well-being as a Green Prescribing option, we demonstrated the theoretical benefits of being outdoors in practice with a mindfulness and nature ID session. This encouraged everyone to connect to nature, slow down and consider the world around them and their place in it. After a cup of tea around the fire, we headed inside to explore the research that underpins our practice. 

This session was a chance to help the students to understand alternative ways to use the skills they are acquiring through their studies and consider a wider range of outdoor career options. The Outdoor Education programmes at UWTSD support the vision of outdoor settings and activities being used as a catalyst for education and health improvements. We hope that we can continue to develop further academic partnerships that will strengthen our research output and ensure a robust future workforce in outdoor health.