Connecting Health and Nature: Growing Green Social Prescribing

Date: Monday 29th September 2025
Time: 10:30 – 12 noon
Location: Online via MS Teams

Cost:

* Free to employees of ORN Member organisations (book via the member link above). ORN reserve the right to charge any non members who book a free ticket.

* £15.00 for non members (click on the link above to book via Ticket Tailor)

As part of the Enhancing Health and Wellbeing sub-theme on Social Prescribing and Health Partnerships within the ORN Action Plan (2025–2028), this webinar will set the scene for a series of ORN events exploring the role of nature in health.

Green social prescribing – supporting people to connect with nature to improve their physical and mental health – is gaining momentum across the UK and Ireland – and further afield. Evidence shows it can boost wellbeing, tackle loneliness, and deliver wider benefits for communities and the environment.

Building on the cross-Government Green Social Prescribing Programme to Tackle and Prevent Mental Ill Health in England, this session will explore why social prescribing matters for outdoor recreation, highlight recent national developments, and underline the importance of robust evaluation to demonstrate impact.

We’re delighted to welcome:

• Molly Aldam (National Academy for Social Prescribing / Natural England) – sharing learning from the GSP national programme and insights into supporting scale and spread.
• Dave Solly (Natural England, Connecting People with Nature Team) – reflecting on lessons from testing system change to embed sustainable links between health systems and nature-based support.

Further speakers will be announced shortly. This event will kick off a series of events over the lifespan of the Action Plan designed to build knowledge, share best practice, and explore how outdoor recreation can help deliver better health and wellbeing outcomes for all.