MSN Life Autumn 2021

MIDSOMER NORTON LIFE 15
WELLBEING IN NATURE
E
arlier in the year, Midsomer Norton Town
Council staff were invited to learn more
about connecting communities to green spaces.
Somer Valley Rediscovered were funding a
four day training course run by Emily Malik
and Michéal Connors as part of the Natural
Academy. The training was focused on assetbased
approaches to nature connection and
engagement. In Midsomer Norton we are very
lucky to have numerous green spaces around us.
The Natural Academy state that, “our mission
with the NatureWell approach is to find a flexible,
scalable, integrative way of helping people and
the natural world recover and flourish. As we
know, this is vital for all our futures together
as one health”. Natural Academy is a social
enterprise whose mission is to support the health
and wellbeing of people and nature. They have
developed the NatureWell approach from over
12 years’ experience of working with people's
health in natural settings. NatureWell is part
of a well-evidenced learning framework that is
being delivered across the region and nationally as
part of NHS Forest.
The first two days of the course were held at the
end of June at Combe Hay Wine and Vineyard, a
beautiful location, just outside of Bath, where we
were kindly invited by the owners for the training
session. The second part of the training took
place in early August at Greyfield Wood in High
Littleton, another wonderful natural area we are
lucky enough to have on our doorstep. It was
a great opportunity to learn how we can engage
more in the green spaces owned by Midsomer
Norton Town Council.
The aim of the training was to show us how to
help people and communities connect to nature
for their health and wellbeing by disseminating
good practice more generally. By realising the
value of local communities and natural spaces
NatureWell can be applied to help people
connect to natural spaces to develop healthy
communities and, at the same time, to care for
our natural spaces in Midsomer Norton. It also
helps those who are living with challenges to
their health or wellbeing, are socially excluded,
or deprived to access the many benefits that
connecting with nature provides.
After the last 18 months of living through a
global pandemic we are all now familiar with
the health and mental health benefits that being
able to get out into nature can bring, even for an
allotted hour to get some exercise! During the
pandemic some of us discovered a new found
love of walking or discovered new local walks to
areas we were not aware of. It is time to embrace
and maintain this change going forward and to
preserve our great outdoors and appreciate how it
enhances our daily lives.