Practitioners Information: Quick Links

Links and resources

Links to nature-based activity providers in the Lothian area, along with information and resources for GSP plus recent commentary and developments.

Nature-based activities in Lothian

Health in Mind - Lothian
Collates information about GSP, how to prescribe and nature-based activities in Edinburgh and Lothian. iThrive covers Edinburgh. Eastspace, Westspace, & Midspace cover the other regions of Lothian. Homepage:
https://health-in-mind.org.uk/news/new-online-resource-for-green-social-prescribing-in-lothian/

Lothian Green Health Charity
Working in partnership with NHS Lothian to enhance the NHS estate and community greenspaces, and connect more patients and staff to therapeutic activities within them. Activities and events across Lothian

ALISS - A Local information System for Scotland
ALISS is funded by the Scottish Government and is part of the wider Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. It includes information and a search tool to find many different nature-based activities across Scotland, such as the conservation volunteers: The Conservation Volunteers

Walking for Health Charity

‘Paths for All’ provides support for FREE local health walks across Scotland. You can find a link to local health walks here: Join a Health Walk

GSP information and training resources

The NHS GSP toolkit
Case studies and useful information.
NHS GSP toolkit

NASP Toolkit Hub
Selected resources in GSP from the National Academy for Social Prescribing.
https://www.naspinnovation.online/gsp-toolkits

A Handbook for Nature on Prescription
The ‘Nature on prescription’ handbook from University of Exeter offers a guide for prescribers, link workers to support people with mental health problems. PDF Link

Good conversation training
Having a conversation during a consultation about a new health intervention is often challenging.  Here are some links for training in having a ‘good conversation’ 

Red Whale Course on Green Social Prescribing
An overview of GSP and suggestions for practising it in primary care. Red Whale requires you to create a free account to access this content.

Organisations

National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP)
National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) offers advice and support on green social prescribing and wider social prescribing.

National Association of Link workers
A membership organisation providing support and development for link workers.
nalw.org.uk

Commentary, News and Developments

  • Red Whale. “Nature…so important we should prescribe it?” A useful overview of green social prescribing in primary care. October 2024. There is a particularly useful section on conversational prompts with suggestions such as “You may feel better when you’re outside. Science tells us that nature reduces stress.”

  • Greener Practice. Nature and health. An overview of the benefits of nature-based health interventions in primary care.

  • Intelligent Health. “A breath of fresh air: why Green Social Prescribing must be part of everyday healthcare.” Useful and practical tips for including GSP as a routine part of healthcare in primary care. March 2025

  • “Nature Heals”. A personal account by Paul Barclay, the Senior Project Officer at The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) about how taking part in nature-based activities helped him manage severe mental health problems.