Sharing knowledge

It didn't feel like Cumbernauld, as we stood in a small clearing, surrounded by trees. Each of us released from our offices for a few hours to come together to experience some green health in action and to talk about how we can make it more accessible to other people. There was a light rain falling but it didn't really matter as we took a few deep breaths and then set about searching for colours in nature to match colours on a paint chart - an ingenious exercise set for us by the team at Cumbernauld Living Landscapes. The only thing that could have made it more fun would have been if they'd brought along a Dulux dog as well as the paint charts! Most of us were satisfied with matching pink to pink and green to green, (or perhaps I should say to pink to berry smoothie or green to enchanted eden - who makes up these paint names?) but the experts amongst us spotted an unusual clump of flowers that they didn't recognise and had to check it out using a plant ID app. Incidentally, did you know that the human eye recognises more shades of green than any other colour. Also, the word pink didn't describe the colour for a long time, it was named after the flowering plant called pinks (Dianthus) which was a description of their frilly edges - see also pinking shears. After a while delving around in the woods we went on a nettle hunt. We left the aforementioned experts to pick the nettles, and despite a lengthy discussion on the various methods of picking nettles without getting stung and the efficacy of dock leaves when the method fails, they succumbed to wearing thick gloves. As the rain became heavier we took shelter in the Palacerigg Visitor Centre, thanks to the hospitality of the Palacerigg Community Trust. We brewed our own tea though, using the foraged nettles. Some of us were even brave enough to drink it! Then, restored by this literal green health (nettle tea is packed with vitamins (A, C, K, B) and minerals like iron and calcium) we settled in to pick the brains of the assembled team that included healthcare professionals, council staff, voluntary sector organisations and green health experts as well as some local residents.

This was all happening as part of the REALITIES project “Researching Evidence-Based Alternatives in Living, Imaginative, Traumatised, Integrated, Embodied Systems” a 3-year, £26m UKRI-funded project, Feb 2024 – Jan 2027, led by Dr Marisa De Andrade at the University of Edinburgh, with the aims of:

•Re-imagining more equitable approaches to health and wellbeing

•Co-creating approaches with communities to connect individuals to community-based opportunities for health and wellbeing

•Co-researching how creativity, relationships, and nature create healthier and more resilient communities and environments

North Lanarkshire Council is one of five REALITIES Asset Hubs across Scotland, which started with the Art is Everywhere programme in 2022 developed in response to the post-Covid social prescribing agenda. In 2023 they produced Scotland's first co-produced Arts Strategy (2023-2028) in partnership with REALITIES and now they are shifting to a fully integrated approach across health, social care, education, and social justice.

The piece of work that the Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership has been lucky enough to get involved with started in April and will run until September, and we're working to shape the creative & green social prescribing referral pathway in Cumbernauld & the Northern Corridor, connecting with local stakeholders to increase the visibility of options available to help improve the health and wellbeing of residents. The knowledge exchange at Palacerigg was our first event, finding out the current landscape and thinking about what could be done differently.

We took people outside at the beginning of the session because we wanted them to have the same experience that their clients might have if they attended a green health activity, and we wanted to hear their perspectives on how it made them feel. We also wanted to know if they thought the activities would be beneficial to the people they work with as well as find out if there had been any lightbulb moments for them personally about ways they could introduce nature or creativity into their own lives, or how to suggest it to their clients. I certainly want to get more people playing the paint chart game and it was reassuring to know that not even the experts recognise every plant they see at first sight. Being outside and being given the opportunity to play takes a lot of people back to their childhood, there is less pressure than getting involved with an indoor group activity and some of the healthcare professionals saw real opportunity for offering outdoor counselling sessions as a way to encourage people to relax and open up.

It was an opportunity to hear from referral agencies as well as the organisations that receive social prescribing referrals as to what they think currently works well, as well as what can be improved. Unsurprisingly there are issues in getting the information about what opportunities are available and the vast plethora of people and organisations - from both statutory and vountary sectors- that can refer in can make tracking the pathway hard. It's something that we're constantly wrestling with as the Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership, how to direct people to one place which contains all the information, because all the information is never in one place. There also needs to be a balance between self directed activity such as the RSPB Nature Prescriptions and signposting to formal opportunities. Finally we tried to reimagine a future where creative and green social prescribing was well known and easily accessed and thought about how we could get there, with improved communications between all partners, more investment in local communities and the natural world (here's hoping) and a reduction in the red tape that often has to be negotiated. I think everyone went away energised and hopefuly. I hope so anyway.

I'd intended to move on to talk about our second event which took place at the North Lanarkshire Creative Health conference last week, but I am running out of room so I'll save that until next month. I want to give a particular shout out to the two organisations who helped us host the knowledge exchange. Palacerigg Community Trust have taken on the stewardship of the Visitor Centre and are dedicated to bringing new life to Palacerigg Country Park. Their meeting space and cafe is a welcoming space for groups to come together with the cafe open to the public, mainly at weekends currently, but they're flexible with room hire. Their organisation is run entirely by volunteers, so if you have spare time and fancy getting involved, check out their website or facebook page. Secondly Cumbernauld Living Landscape who helped get us connected to nature is a partnership between the Scottish Wildlife Trust, North Lanarkshire Council, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and Sanctuary Scotland. Through their Nurturing Natural Connections project they offer regular health and wellbeing sessions, citizen science volunteering and practical conservation opportunities. If you live in the Cumbernauld area you don't need to look any further for your green health opportunities. Find out more on their website. Thanks to both organisations for your support.

Finally I wanted to let you know about a couple of events happening over the next month. Firstly on Saturday 27th June between 9.30am and 12.30pm Walking Scotland are launching East Kilbride's walking action plan in St Leonards Library. The plan has been developed with local people through community conversations and sets out practical actions to make walking and wheeling in Calderwood & St Leonards safer, easier and more enjoyable. If you live in the area, why not go along to find out what’s in the plan, hear how local voices helped shape it and learn what happens next and how you can stay involved. To find out more contact Caitlin Watson at caitlin.watson@walkingscotland.org.uk

If you want an opportunity to slow down and connect with nature, then you could sign up for Get Walking Lanarkshire's next ParkBathe session. Taking place in Motherwell on Wednesday 1st July, meeting at the library at 10.30am this will be the opportunity to experience a gentle, mindful walk. ParkBathe uses prompts from forest bathing, forest school and mindfulness. The walk will take place in a local green space with time to really notice the surroundings. But don't worry, no water is involved! Sign up here.

Finally just a wee acknowledgement of where we are in the year. I know it doesn't feel like it, but the summer solstice or midsummer is rapidly approaching. I'm not going to mention the weather, instead just a nod to the lovely light that we're lucky enough to have for so many hours at this time of year, accompanied by plenty of birdsong, both morning and evening for most of the month. I've really been appreciating blackbirds this year, perhaps due to my slow reading of Miles Richardson's The Blackbird's Song & Other Wonders of Nature. In his writing for June he encourages us to celebrate the longest day of the year in a way that is personally meaningful. For me, this means getting some sand between my toes - a very visceral connection to the natural world. So until next month, I'm away to the beach.