Publish date: 20 June 2025
More than 50 members of staff from across AWP took part in a training course recently, to learn more about how they can bring nature into their practice.
The two-day training was organised by AWP staff, with contributions from various clinicians from across the Trust who have experience of incorporating nature into their work.
This is the second year we've run this training, which is part of a wider project to try and encourage and nurture nature-based practice at AWP.
Dr Richard Brown, one of the team that organised the sessions, explained: “There's a rapidly growing evidence base that contact with nature can have good outcomes for the mental health of service users, and also for the wellbeing of staff. And there's a lot of amazing nature-based practice already happening across the Trust. Our surveys and the consultation groups we have run demonstrate a real appetite for more – from both from service users and clinicians."
People from all backgrounds and with a range of difficulties and needs can be supported in their recovery by nature, including those with the most complex needs.
The two sessions were held at Speedwell Allotments and Grow Wilder in north east Bristol, and staff were given opportunities to explore the wide variety of ways that nature can be used to enhance clinical care in a secondary mental health services, as well as looking at examples of what's already happening at AWP, and the underpinning theoretical frameworks and evidence-base.
Nature-based practice is a broad term and refers to a number of different ways that nature can be incorporated into the support offered by secondary mental health services.
