We have recently delivered a feasibility study for improving outdoor spaces at Kent & Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT). KMPT is a significant mental health trust with a large estate, an ambitious Green Plan, and strong biodiversity and green spaces commitments.
Our work was commissioned to assess the opportunity across the estate for biodiversity, connection to nature, employee and patient health and wellbeing, enhanced clinical practice and community and partner engagement.
Happy staff, happy patients, happy wildlife!
Wherever possible we started our work with the Trust with a personal experience. We used the nature connection practices in our book ‘Being in Nature’, helping people have a felt sense of the importance of the work – and the power of stopping to take a moment to notice nature in what can be an extremely busy working day.
We also shared the science and psychology of nature connection, which is now well evidenced in the health sector, and includes strong benefits for staff, patients, and community.
As an anchor institution, projects that improve KMPT’s outdoor spaces may benefit local communities, as well as those staff and patients directly engaged in individual sites. Our study identified a range of community and partnership opportunities from the sites we visited, including mental health community partnerships; improved views and contact with nature; reduced urban heat island impacts through shading; and volunteering opportunities. We also noticed the potential to connect services and learning within and across individual sites in the estate.
One member of staff commented on the importance of nature connection for health and happiness in the sector, saying
“Happy staff make happy patients – and happy patients make happy staff!”.
To which we might add…”and happy wildlife” as the essential third ingredient.
We were reminded that one particularly famous healthcare worker once said something similar:
“People say the effect [of flowers] is only on the mind. It is no such thing. The effect is on the body, too. Little as we know about the way in which we are affected by form, by colour and light, we do know this, that they have an actual physical effect.” – Florence Nightingale.
We conducted a survey of 114 staff – and detailed design workshops at two sites together with our associates Nick Gant and Julia Roberts.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the evidence was for strong support for a closer connection with nature in the workplace – in particular for feeling calm, experiencing pleasant senses, and enjoying the beauty of nature. The survey helped us understand which nature connection interventions people wanted to see in their workplaces – and how willing they were to volunteer and get involved.
A nature connection 'toolkit'
In total, we conducted a study of 10 sites across Kent. Our report explored the application and costings for elements of The Human Nature Partnership Toolkit.
Our toolkit is a multi-functional, adaptable set of nature connection elements that encourage people to engage with the natural world in ways which are beautiful and meaningful, evoke emotion, harness the senses, and lead to compassionate action. It includes growing opportunities, biodiversity enhancement, seating and access improvements, the use of water and even indoor nature connection features such as moss walls. We included the approaches to buildings, the courtyards that feature across the estate, and the gardens and green spaces including a ‘garden of calm’.
Evidence shows that people who regularly notice and engage with the natural world have been found to feel calmer, more satisfied with life, and more self confident; more creative, more productive, and happier. It is also clear from the research that people who feel connected to the natural world are twice as likely to take action in daily life which is good for the planet – both environmental and nature-conservation action. Individual behaviour change is essential in the work to deal with the climate and biodiversity crises in the UK, and so the influence that employers have should not be under-estimated.
Enabling organisations to connect with nature
The Human Nature Partnership is focused on enabling organisations to become more nature connected – for all the reasons demonstrated in this study. We are the only consultancy to feature in the world leading publication ‘Nature Connected Organisations’ by the University of Derby.
Do contact us if you and your organisation would like to have nature-rich workplaces, making a positive contribution to people and planet.