Wiltshire Council is working alongside Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to promote the next series of Wellbeing in Nature for men aged 20 – 59.
Following its success earlier this year, two more programmes will run in October, with the first one starting on Monday 21 October in Chippenham and the second one on Saturday 26 October in Salisbury. Both will run over 12-weeks.
The free initiative seeks to support improved wellbeing through nature-based physical activity where men can develop strong social networks. Sessions will be shaped throughout the programme based on the interests of those attending. Examples of activities on offer include hiking, woodwork and bush craft skills which will be implemented alongside wellbeing techniques including stress management.
A participant explained the positive impact the programme has had on their wellbeing, saying, “I’m learning to take time to sit with myself and enjoy nature.”
Dave Turner, course leader at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, explained, “I can clearly remember the first time the group met at Trowbridge Train Station, a group of individual men who’d never met, all looking quite nervous, apprehensive and scattered around the car park, gradually one by one approaching the minibus.
“It was so fulfilling to see their individual journeys throughout the 12 weeks, as their confidence and self-esteem grew, as we exposed them to a variety of nature-based activities, including whittling, willow craft, campfire cooking, poetry, wildlife walks and mindfulness, the purpose to equip them with tools and strategies for helping improve and maintain their own ‘mental health’.
“I recall the time when Andrea, raised the subject of ‘Poetry’ and the look across the guys faces… it was a picture, the ‘Stereotypical’ male macho… “We don’t do poetry!!” Oh, how wrong they were… It was so nice to see them embrace it and create some beautiful poetry!
“Personally, for me it was really satisfying and warming to see them start to support each other and start to form bonds, and to see those ‘lightbulb’ moments when you see them light up with smile across their faces! I feel that through this programme we have made a truly positive impact on individuals’ mental health and provided them with the means to continue that ‘recovery’ journey throughout their daily lives, as well as forming new friendships which will hopefully enable them to continue to support each other beyond the programme.”
To find out more, or to make a referral, please visit https://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/mens-wellbeing or people can contact Wiltshire Wildlife Trust with any enquiries at email hidden; JavaScript is required or call 07702802961.