A day at work with Rachel: Nature and Health Practitioner

What is your role?

As a Nature and Health Practitioner, I plan and facilitate inclusive woodland groups to support people’s mental and physical health. There’s strong evidence that nature connection significantly reduces anxiety and improves mood. The groups are an opportunity for people to meet others in similar circumstances, benefit from peer support, try new things and learn new skills.

We very much go with the flow of what people are interested in and need from the groups. This might include a chance for people to relax and be in the moment, express themselves creatively or, importantly, to just have fun! As well as nature supporting human health, research shows that having a strong sense of nature connection encourages pro-environmental behaviour too.

What does a typical day look like for you?

If I am facilitating a woodland group, I’ll pack our kit at 8:30 am before heading off to the woods with my colleague, Helen, to set up. To ensure our groups are as accessible as possible, but with a low impact on the woodland, we bring in everything we need and remove it after each group. Setting up the site might include putting up a tarp in wet weather, bringing in camping chairs for people to sit on, ensuring people keep warm with blankets and hot water bottles, doing a pre-session check and clearing any litter. If we have a fire, we bring a raised fire bowl and suitable dry wood and remove all ash (which goes on my compost afterwards). It’s important that we make as little impact on the wood as possible and leave no trace.

We run our sessions in public parks and green spaces, so we liaise with local councils or other organisations who care for the woods, such as Forestry England. We might let them know if we have spotted anything concerning e.g. ring-barked trees. We greet the group as they arrive and everyone spends a few minutes catching up. The sessions vary depending on the seasons, weather, and group members’ needs and interests, so we are prepared to go with the flow on the day.

We do, however, plan each session. We might start with a grounding exercise to ‘arrive’ in the woods and connect with our surroundings. This might include using our senses e.g. looking for colours, noticing shapes or textures, or focusing on bird song. Some people like to go on a short walk, this might be based on a theme such as noticing signs of spring, such as tree buds about to open.

Other activities might include green woodwork, arts and crafts, foraging and cooking, or taking part in wildlife surveys. We usually finish with a nature poem relating to the woods or season and always have a hot drink and a snack (if possible cooked on the fire). We get to know our woodland sites well and what they offer e.g. some spots have banks of wild garlic whereas others might have sweet chestnuts later in the year. We make sure to only use small amounts when there is an abundance. We often finish with a poem and then group members reflect on the session and suggest anything for next time.

When the group has headed off, we pack up our kit and do a final site check to make sure that we have left it as we arrived (apart from a few new footprints!) Then my colleague, Helen, and I de-brief about how the session went, with ideas about how we might adjust things for different people or plan the next session depending on feedback or observations of the group.

Back at home we, wash up and sort out the kit. If it’s been wet, we need to hang and dry tarps. We might need to chop wood for the next group and research/ prepare activities. We write up session notes and might follow up on anything that’s come up in the group. We download any photos we’ve taken and might suggest a social media post to the comms team. The last hour is usually spent doing any admin tasks or following up on emails, writing funding bids, making sure our training is up to date etc.

What’s the best part of your job?

It’s brilliant being able to spend time outside in the woods, but especially being able to share that with other people. It’s lovely to see people bond within a group and support each other through sharing their knowledge and experiences. People attending our groups are often experiencing difficulties in everyday life, but everyone is so generous. I love having the opportunity to stop, notice, learn about and connect with the wider natural world we share. I also love experimenting with arts and crafts and food – sometimes the really fun sessions are when things go a bit ‘wrong’ and we can all have a laugh about it!

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to get into the sector?

I think having a really person-centred approach helps. Thinking about what someone needs to feel comfortable and confident, what might help them try something new or build relationships. Not everyone feels comfortable or has had good experiences when spending time in green spaces, so it’s being sensitive to people’s needs.

In terms of training, there are now a few different routes. Some are based on the Forest School approach of “providing space for social, emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual exploration – a safe, non-judgemental nurturing environment for people to try stuff out and take risks while inspiring a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how we fit within it.” Some are more focused on an eco-psychology approach. Therapeutic horticulture is also very closely related and the principles of Occupational Therapy and purposeful activity also apply.

I did quite a lot of volunteering with different organisations that all have a slightly different approach and focuses. These include The Wildlife Trust, Trust for Conservation Volunteers and Avon Gorge and Downs Project. I did an NVQ in Environmental Conservation and Level 3 Forest School training.

I found it useful to have a good practical foundation and knowledge of tool use, fires and cooking, safely erecting shelters etc. combined with experience in facilitating groups and working sensitively with different people. Ongoing training for this role includes Outdoor First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, Safeguarding and Food Safety.

I have also found specific training useful to help me support particular groups, for example, dementia awareness. Peer learning is also really important and ongoing. There are opportunities locally e.g. by joining the Nature Practitioner Network, Dementia HIT group, and by linking up and learning from other projects such as Alive’s Dementia Allotment project.

Find out more about our health and wellbeing programme and how you can support it.