Health In Parks

The idea of parks being crucial for human health became somewhat lost over the years, but it is now well-known that spending time in parks and green spaces improves both physical and mental health, and helps people to better manage existing conditions. For example, people with access to a park are 24% more likely to meet physical activity recommendations. Access to parks can also reduce health inequalities by providing physical and social spaces for communities to exercise, connect with each other and spend time in nature.

Putting health at the heart of parks is a way to respond to this evidence in a way that maximises the benefits to local communities, thinking about parks as public health assets and making changes to how they are managed and used.

Concern about public health in cities was the driving force behind the Victorian public parks movement, which saw green spaces created to help improve people’s health as urban areas expanded.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of green space to health and wellbeing with park usage increasing enormously. It also shone a light on the inequalities that exist in accessing green space and the huge health inequalities nationwide.

Re-centring health in our parks today is one way to address these inequalities, better serve local communities and encourage more people to visit parks. Doing so can provide a reason to develop new partnerships focussed on health and wellbeing. It can also develop new partnerships that focus on getting people using parks to improve their health and wellbeing. Getting buy-in for this new mission can mean that existing funding is safeguarded and new investment secured.

This requires a deeper understanding of how the health sector works, and a cultural shift to recognise parks as not just green spaces, but as places that play a significant role in people’s health. Local authorities need to work collaboratively with local communities and many different public service providers. These include: public health teams, park managers, the voluntary and community sector (VCS), and social care providers. They also need to ensure that the spaces are of high quality to be able to deliver health benefits.

Camden and Islington councils have developed a service which provides communities with a two-pronged approach to supporting health through green space. First, they developed a universal offering. By gaining a better understanding of the social and physical barriers residents face in using green spaces, the team could more effectively try to reduce these.

Secondly, as a targeted offering, they partnered with other public service sectors to develop a green social prescribing offer.

Green social prescribing works for a wide range of people, including those with one or more long-term conditions and those who need support with their mental health. It also works for those who are lonely or isolated, as well as those who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing. Social prescribing enables GPs and other health professionals to refer people to a social prescribing link worker. A link worker helps an individual focus on what matters to them to improve their health and well-being. For some people this will be green social prescribing, which involves referring people to nature-based activities and projects. These activities include walking, gardening, outdoor-based art projects and gentle exercise like tai chi, all of which take place in a green setting.

Putting health at the heart of parks entails more than just green social prescribing, but this is a key part of the overall process.