The Public Health England South West Health & Wellbeing Team visited Exmoor National Park in June 2017 for a team building and away day! The team, who work to promote the health and wellbeing of the population across the South West, were keen to chat with the Exmoor National Park team, and experience the wellbeing benefits of Exmoor’s open spaces for themselves!
Meeting of minds between health and natural environment sectors!
In the context of growing evidence of the health benefits of green and blue space, which has been shown to improve mental health and wellbeing, among a range of other health benefits, both teams had productive discussions about working together to promote National Parks as an important asset for public health and wellbeing.
Professor Kevin Elliston, Deputy Director of PHE South West thoroughly enjoyed the day and thought it was a great experience for his team: “In June we had a Team-Building-Day with a difference and, on kind invitation, we joined Exmoor National Park colleagues for an ‘Exmoor Experience’. Exmoor did not disappoint on any level! It was a fantastic day, spent in an amazing place of natural beauty with a great team of colleagues. It has been the best Team day ever and will be a hard act to follow! We’re looking forward to working with National Park colleagues to build on the great work they do in improving people’s health and wellbeing by experiencing the rich natural assets of Exmoor”.
As we have mentioned in earlier posts (Moor to Enjoy for Health & Wellbeing) Exmoor National Park Authority has been an active advocate of the health benefits of being in the natural environment with our Moor to Enjoy project. This four-year project (the first of its kind to be funded in England) aims to support local groups, who might not normally consider visiting the National Park to get out into the natural environment – increasing their confidence and knowledge to independently visit again and again.
For further details on the Moor to Enjoy Project, please contact Lucy McQuillan (Project Co-ordinator) at lmcquillan@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk. Alternatively you can follow the project on twitter @Moor2EnjoyENPA
Exmoor Views 