Above photo, the team from Catalyst mental health charity.
Mental health charities and university research
We are delighted to announce that we have launched government-funded sessions for two mental health charities in March 2022. We are thrilled to be working with Mind and Catalyst to assist the people in their care. Both organisations provide priceless care, and we admire their work.
University research into the health benefits of nature
Our funded sessions have a research element. Participants referred by Mind and Catalyst are invited to participate in pre and post-session questionaries. The questionnaires are optional; we were clear that the main objective of the sessions would be to help the people attending. To date, the vast majority attending has filled out the questionnaires. The data collection aims to evidence the benefits of nature for referrals from mental health charities. We hope that collecting empirical evidence on the benefits of nature will allow us to obtain further funding to help more people.
The pre and post-session questionnaires have passed through the University of Derby ethics process. TFBI do not receive the completed forms. Instead, the records are sent directly to the University of Derby to be stored on secure servers. We plan to publish future peer-reviewed papers once enough data is collected and analysed.
Above photo, Funded session participants enjoying a forest bathing session.
Government Funded nature immersion sessions with paid transportation.
We have launched several new initiatives with the charities; the first is fully funded sessions, including transportation; this model ensures we can help share the benefits of forest bathing with people who would not ordinarily visit the locations we use.
Launch of the 6-week immersive forest bathing programme
Following similar models used across the NHS, we have designed a 6-week immersive programme to assist long-term positive change. We have constructed a resource pack to supplement the forest-based sessions as part of this new programme. The resource pack has been designed to assist participants further.
Data collection is also part of this new initiative.
SMEF AND Shifa. Muslim women groups
Finally, we were delighted to be approached by Surrey County Council to run sessions for two wonderful organisations assisting Muslim women. Our guides and the participants reported having a great time in the forest together. We hope to run more sessions for both organisations in the future.