Academic Researchers

Background

Green social prescribing is about supporting people to access nature-based activities in order to improve their physical and mental health. COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of spending time outdoors and highlighted significant inequalities in access to green and blue spaces (Improving Access to Greenspace, 2020).  West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership want to support more equitable access to nature, as a means of reducing health inequalities.

Overview of Project Funding

The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership would therefore like to fund innovative and transformative projects, which help connect people to nature and improve their physical and mental health.

They are interested in funding projects that either:

• Enable people to access nature-based activities

e.g. outdoor arts, outdoor education, conservation projects, walking groups, outdoor sports, community food growing projects etc.

• Involve creating new greenspaces

e.g. pocket parks, spaces to grow food etc.

• Do a combination of the two

The fund is open to voluntary, community and public sector organisations operating within the West Yorkshire and Harrogate region. Grants of between £5K and £10K are available.

Funding Conditions

• Projects must support people from one or more of WY&H Care Partnerships target groups to access nature. The target groups are:
• people living in areas of deprivation
• people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, including refugees and asylum seekers and gypsy and traveller populations
• people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities or autism
• These groups have been identified because we know they experience additional barriers to accessing green and blue spaces.
• Projects must be delivered between March and September 2021
• An informal written or verbal update must be provided 3 months into the project (June 2021)
• A report demonstrating the impact of the project must be provided at the end of the funding period (September 2021)
• The provider must be willing for WY&H Care Partnership to share learning about the project with their Green Social Prescribing Network

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