UNLOCKING NATURE
A participatory film project to show the benefits of natural spaces, particularly for people with mental illness
Researchers, a filmmaker, and a group of people with lived experience of severe mental illness, or who care for people with severe mental illness, have come together to co-create a collective film and a series of shorts that illustrate how spending time in green and blue spaces can improve mental wellbeing, and which barriers can stop people from fully benefitting from natural spaces.
What to expect in our films
Our group film introduces several fictional characters – played by members of the project group – who are experiencing mental ill health. Each of them finds something that helps them to get out into nature and each of them finds their own particular way of engaging with that green or blue space so as to maximise the benefit they get. We learn that spending time in nature is rather like recharging a battery, reviving our mood and energy levels. The characters in our film find that when they first return home they gradually revert to feeling less well again. By persevering and spending more and more time doing what they enjoy in their favourite blue and green spaces however, they discover that the beneficial effect on their mood and thinking persists over a longer period. The more they can keep their ‘battery’ topped up the better.
Interspersing our characters’ journeys are a number of reflections, both by members of the group and celebrated authors, naturalists and thinkers, about the experience of being in nature.
Project members have also worked on three individual films that explore personal aspects of their relationship to green and blue spaces. You can watch all the films here.
What have you taken away from being in this project?
Simon: "I would be more ready to recommend getting out to anyone who was struggling with stress & anxiety, the positive effects for many can be felt even after a short walk or just a visit to a local park. However I am now more aware that some people may need to overcome other issues to get out there and may feel unsafe in certain situations."
Rosie: "I feel more inspired to explore different types of green spaces."
John: "Taking time to sit and not do anything - remind myself to stop being busy all the time."
Louise: "It has made me more aware of the difficulties others face when accessing outside spaces."
Our inspiration
The project was inspired by a recently completed piece of research led by Queen’s University Belfast, and also funded by the ‘Closing the Gap’ Network (see 'Our funding' below for information about the Network), entitled ‘Green & blue spaces – how being outdoors can benefit our mental health’. In this project, researchers interviewed a number of mental health service users about their experiences of green and blue spaces. They then used this information to create an online survey which was filled out by almost two thousand people. The survey results shed further light on how people with experience of mental illness relate to and engage with these spaces in comparison to the rest of the population. The study equally identified a range of barriers - practical, social and psychological - for people with mental illness in accessing these spaces, as well as some potential ways of improving access, for instance through buddy systems and group activities.
Our hopes for the films
Our ambition is that the films will engage a wide audience of service users, carers, professionals and the general public. Also that it will be a strong call to action for health practitioners and policymakers to increase the quality and accessibility of public blue and green spaces.
Our funding
The project is generously funded through the ‘Closing the Gap’ network led by the University of York. The network funds new research, partnerships and translational work to address the stark physical health inequalities experienced by people with the most severe forms of mental ill health.
Also many thanks to our project partners Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, ARCH Recovery College and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, and ReCoCo Recovery College Collective.