What’s happening elsewhere in the UK?
Across the UK, support for GSP is growing but the funding, referral processes, and available nature-based activities vary nationally and regionally. (27-31)
During the COVID-19 pandemic the UK government invested £5.77 million in a project managed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with support from other key stakeholders. They funded seven sites across England to test how to embed green social prescribing into communities with a focus on improving mental health outcome, reducing the demand on the health service, developing best practice and reducing health inequalities. Over 8,000 people were referred to a green social prescribing activity during the programme from April 2021-March 2023.
The main outcomes of this project were:
Positive improvements in mental health and wellbeing of people who took part part including statistically significant improvements in happiness, life satisfaction, and levels of anxiety or depression.
Increased levels of physical activity of participants.
Strong engagement of communities experiencing high levels of social inequalities.
85% uptake of GSP when offered to people.
Increased trust between delivery partners and healthcare providers, leading to more referrals to suitable green activities.
