Strap?
PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE
NATUREPL.COM
The nature of
good health THE WILDLIFE TRUSTS’ COLLABORATION WITH MENTAL HEALTHI CHARITY MIND SHOWS HOW EFFECTIVE PRESCRIBING ‘NATURE’ ASI THERAPY CAN BE (PAGE 13). HERE, JENNIFER GILBERT REPORTSI ON THE LOCAL SUCCESS OF HEALTH WALKS IN HILLINGDONI
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or most of us it is clear that being outdoors in nature and going for a walk is good for us. It makes you feel good, clears your head, helps you relax and of course keeps you fit. However, if you don’t have anyone to walk with or if you don’t know where to go, walking can be a daunting prospect. Quite understandably fears over safety or getting lost mean that many people avoid walking around isolated green spaces on their own. Fortunately there are schemes which help remove these barriers. Health walk programmes are now being offered in many parts of the country as part of the national Walking for Health campaign. Coordinated by organisations including local authorities,
NHS trusts, charities and volunteer groups, these regular free guided walks give people the opportunity to get out, socialise and improve their general fitness all in one go. Since their inception in 1996 they have become hugely popular. More than 70,000 people now regularly walk at 3,400 health walks across the country led by 10,000 trained volunteers. Local walks Within Hertfordshire and Middlesex there are several schemes providing a large number of walks. In Hertfordshire this is coordinated by the Countryside Management Service and in Middlesex by local authorities such as London Borough of
Hillingdon. Between these two schemes alone there is a total of 60 different walks covering every day of the week, taking in a huge number of green spaces across the two counties. As part of our Connecting People with the Colne Valley project, I have been lucky enough to be involved with the Hillingdon Healthy Walks. Having trained as a walk leader I regularly go along to health walks in Uxbridge, Harefield and Denham to show people the wildlife they can see at different times of year. Not only has this been a great way to reach a new audience and teach them about wildlife, it has also shown me how important these schemes are, having seen the benefits for myself. > January 2014 wildlifematters 11