Your Park Bristol and Bath

Celebrating £219,265 in National Lottery funding for mental health

Your Park Bristol and Bath is celebrating after being awarded £219,265 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

The funding will enable the charity to expand Roots to Wellbeing across Bristol making it a leading in-nature therapy service in the West Country.

The service will support over 200 people with complex mental health conditions through weekly in-nature therapy sessions in Eastville Park, Hartcliffe Millennium Green, Stockwood Open Space and Withywood Park. The charity will also create city-wide volunteering opportunities with park groups.

Sara Laking, Health and Community Lead at Your Park Bristol and Bath, said: “Thank you so much to the National Lottery players. This funding will make a significant difference to how many people we can support through our Roots to Wellbeing. We want to continue providing an oasis of calm amongst the stress of life and help more people unlock the health benefits of nature.”

People with a range of conditions will benefit, from depression and anxiety, to schizophrenia, Asperger’s and PTSD. The sessions welcome everybody, from people seeking asylum, to those who’ve recently lost a loved one, or to people who have left the care system or prison.

One participant said:

“I have been off work this week due to sickness and I have been starting to worry about many things including money. I have never grown anything from seed but watching these little green shoots spring up has given me so much joy and made me feel better. It brings you back from worrying about things and reinforces that the simplest little thing can bring joy."

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Evaluation of the charity’s Roots to Wellbeing pilot programme has been wholly positive, with results showing that 100% of participants felt happier after taking part.

The pilot programme was launched by Your Park Bristol and Bath in 2022 and sessions have taken place weekly in Eastville Park and Hartcliffe Millennium Green, with activities ranging from meditations to leaf prints. To date around 43 people have taken part.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive, including Your Park Bristol and Bath.

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