I thought I would share with you an innovative program we have been running at FRESH CAMHS for young people and parents from our purpose built dome- Bascamp which sits on the edge of Springfield Park within the hospital grounds.

We have been supported by the department to implement Nature Well a program based on eco-psychology and developed by the Natural Academy- Natural Academy a CIC based in Bristol who provide training, on-going support, and conferences both in Bristol and for the first time in the North in Burnley on the 12^th June 2026.

Here at FRESH CAMHS we have found the method accessible, well received by young people and parents, and easy to implement.

Each session has a format and process that allows for the young people to become connected with the natural world, explore what it means to them, and find rest and rejuvenation through shared experiences in nature.

We hold sessions weekly for one and half hours for six weeks and start each session meeting at Basecamp before going into our local park space which has a range of habitats to explore and be in- such as small coppices, wildflower areas, grassed areas, and some formal beds with a range of flowers and herbs in it. We also have the occasional buzzard, pied wagtails, rooks, and no end of bugs and spiders.

Sessions begin with a general check in and arrival from wherever the young people have come from and then we do a grounding exercise to help us become aware of ourselves and the surroundings we are in and this might include some simple breathing exercises or a poem on nature to help bring us into focus on what we are about to do together.

The Program has 5 themed areas we explore which focus on 1. Contact 2. Beauty 3. Compassion 4. Emotion 5. Meaning and a final reflective session to think about the experience and what things the young people will take beyond the sessions- anything from joining local nature-based groups to making bird feeders or making a bug hotel.

The session on Contact focuses very much on being aware of all our senses in the Natural World and how we experience it and also what we take notice of in terms of each of our senses- the wind on our skin, the differences in light, how a leaf or bark feels on our skin, what we note in terms of smell- damp grass and floral flowers, and if appropriate the taste of found fruit like blackberries, etc

Beauty allows us to see the wonder and creation of nature. From shapes, colour, and texture. We encourage young people to create a beauty loom from found objects and place them in a loom made in a Y shaped stick or as a group between two trees to make a huge collective beauty loom.

Moving onto compassion we start to think about how to take care of nature and ultimately ourselves by making birdfeeders, sowing wildflower seeds, and litter collecting. It allows us to take note of ways to take care and responsibility for the planet we inhabit and our own wellbeing by the act of kindness and concern for it

Looking at emotion we explore how are emotional states are influenced by nature and can be a baramoter/metaphor for us but also a place to restore and rejuvenate, feel relaxed and space to think. We might produce a piece of environmental art to show this as a picture or sculpture.

Exploring meaning takes us to think about what nature can make us think and feel in terms of bigger questions around the world we live in or a reaction to a particular scene or image.

Finally, we look at integration/reflection on how we can take the experience beyond the sessions. Some young people have signed up for litter picks, others have joined the RSPB, and others have started their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Feedback has been extremely positive from young people and parents and as a result we have co-created a animation of ‘What Nature Means to me’ with twinvision and supported by Alder Hey Arts in Health.

We continue to run sessions twice a week and now have a group that includes parents and young people together, which has been a natural evolution of the programme.

Carl can be contacted at carl.dutton@alderhey.nhs.uk or you can see him at the One Health Conference on 12^th June.