We know that spending time outdoors is good for us.
Our mental health and wellbeing is linked to green spaces, open air and the natural environment.
Care farms use farming and nature to benefit people, including improving mental health and wellbeing. A care farm is a calming environment, away from the pressures of everyday life.
The Surrey Hills Society, in partnership with the Surrey Hills National Landscape and Growing Health Together, have been awarded a grant to initiate a pilot of nature- based health interventions on farms in East Surrey. These can support the mental health of people from all ages and backgrounds with Surrey Heartlands’ priority communities as the focus.
Katie Daw, our Care Farm Coordinator, has been working with farmers from three key farm sites to support young people and adults with mental illness of mild to medium severity who live in key neighbourhoods in East Surrey.
Visits have included tours of the farm, feeding animals, talks about work on the farm, craft activities and generally taking in the atmosphere of the farming environment to benefit mental health.
