Connecting with nature to improve health and wellbeing.
RSPB Nature Prescriptions offer a simple way for healthcare and associated professionals, and appropriate community organisations, to support and help improve health and wellbeing by encouraging meaningful, personal connections with nature.
They’re created with a wide range of professionals who are trained and supported to deliver Nature Prescriptions directly to the people they support.
Each Nature Prescription includes a booklet filled with gentle prompts and suggestions to help you notice and connect with the nature around you - wherever you live and at a time that suits you.
These can be as simple as:
There’s no expectation to travel or join an organised session or group. Based on feedback, in some areas, Nature Prescription booklets do include suggestions for local green spaces to explore.
The impact of Nature Prescriptions goes beyond personal wellbeing. As people deepen their connection with nature, many begin to care more about protecting it: taking small, positive actions that support the natural world.
It has been a saviour. It has allowed me to listen to my feelings, a greater awareness of how things affect me and just how much beauty is around us. I have slowed down, and I am so much calmer thanks to this initiative.”
- Patient feedback, Edinburgh pilot report
A stronger connection with nature can have a powerful impact on our health and wellbeing. It can help lift low mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and even lower blood pressure.
But it doesn’t have to mean hiking through forests or visiting nature reserves. It can be as simple as:
These small, mindful moments help us slow down, feel calmer, and connect with the natural world around us. They’ve also been shown to reduce feelings of loneliness and increase our sense of purpose.
RSPB Nature Prescriptions demonstrated real impact in the Scotland trial:
Following the success of the initial trial, RSPB Nature Prescriptions are now expanding across England, Scotland, and Wales where they are being developed and delivered with the incredible support of healthcare and associated professionals, leaders of appropriate community and third sector support organisations, and Experts by Experience.
Together, we’re evolving Nature Prescriptions to reach more people, in more places, with meaningful ways to connect with nature and improve wellbeing.
There is a report on the outcomes of an urban pilot of Nature Prescriptions in Edinburgh.
I’m more aware of nature as well now, it’s more about connecting with nature rather than just going out for a walk and being lost in your own thoughts. And that’s been really, really helpful."
- GP feedback, Edinburgh pilot report
We work with GPs, practice nurses, social prescribers, health and wellbeing coaches, and others in the primary care workforce to support patients directly through their local surgeries.
Our partnerships include stroke services, occupational therapists, support workers, and community neurology teams—bringing nature into everyday recovery and rehabilitation.
We’re working with hospitals and mental health trusts to explore how nature can support people in clinical settings. Recovery Colleges, for example, have been delivering nature connection courses as well as using Nature Prescriptions to support mental health recovery and personal growth.
We collaborate on preventative and person-centred health initiatives, helping communities build lasting connections with nature.
We support councils in embedding nature-based approaches into their wellbeing services.
We team up with organisations to reach people where they are, making nature connection accessible and meaningful.
Housing associations are often looking for ways to support wellbeing of their more vulnerable residents and we have already commenced work with some.
In England, as well as working with partners across health and care organisations, we collaborate with other conservation organisations. For example, we’re working with several National Park Authorities including Exmoor, Peak District, North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales.
Nature Prescriptions have significantly strengthened our engagement with health professionals. Nature Prescriptions have been enthusiastically received and have acted as a powerful catalyst, enabling meaningful collaboration with social prescribers, health and wellbeing coaches, and mental health professionals. Everyone we have trained has been complementary about the quality of the resource, it terms of content and how it looks, and its accessibility.”
- Heather McNiff, Head of Engagement and Wellbeing, North York Moors National Park Authority
Dr Brunt, GP at Skerryvore Practice, said:
I and other local doctors love the newly developed Orkney Nature Prescription and can't wait to introduce it to our patients during consultations. We are confident that nature prescribing will enhance our management of a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. Patients are therefore encouraged to ask their doctor or nurse about nature prescribing during discussion of treatment options for any new or long-term health condition.”
In Cardiff, for example, we’ve worked with United Welsh Housing which is keen to use Nature Prescriptions to support the wellbeing of some residents in their accommodation. We are also exploring opportunities with the Flying Start team in Denbighshire to use them to support the wellbeing of the families they work with.
Having the ‘permission’ to take time out and reconnect with nature has made a huge difference. It is a powerful and deep emotional boost that does help, as simple and basic as it may seem.”
- Patient feedback - Edinburgh pilot
At the RSPB, we believe that everyone - no matter where they live or the challenges they face - should have the opportunity to experience the health and wellbeing benefits of nature.
RSPB Nature Prescriptions are free, inclusive, and accessible. They’re already supporting people in busy urban centres like Birmingham and Cardiff, as well as in more rural and remote communities such as the Orkney Isles. Nature is for all of us.
If your organisation supports people’s health and wellbeing and you’re interested in offering Nature Prescriptions, we’d love to hear from you. We’re always looking to grow our community of partners who share our vision of helping people feel better by connecting with the natural world.
Get in touch with us at natureprescriptions@rspb.org.uk
