This store requires javascript to be enabled for some features to work correctly.
NatureMind Summit
Green Social Prescribing
NatureMind is the key platform for exploration into latest research & best practice in nature-based social prescribing for physical & mental health in the UK.
It is an annual non-profit summit each year coordinated by Mind Over Mountains & the University of Lancashire in collaboration with leading policy makers & practitioners in UK green social prescribing.
Speakers, panellists & workshop leaders are made up of some of the principal voices in this sector. The goal of the event is to enable continuing growth & development in the fields of green social prescribing, & nature- and activity-based therapies.
The 5th NatureMind UK Green Social Prescribing Summit will take place on Monday 5th October 2026 at YHA Castleton, Hope Valley. More details on speakers and the agenda for the day will be available on this page soon, and will be shared via email if you sign up for latest news below. We will also be making a call for proposals, and ticket sales will go live on 1st June.
NatureMind is all-day nonprofit event for commissioners, practitioners, academics, social prescribers, policymakers & all those with an interest in the power of nature & physical activity in supporting mental health.
It offers exploration into latest research & best practice in nature-based social prescribing; via presentations, workshops, discussion & practical demonstrations, indoors & out.
Presentations & Agenda from the 2025 event available to view here.
This evidence base review - featured at NatureMind 2025 - summarises the academic evidence that underpins the Mind Over Mountains approach, and in particular the associations between the elements of that model (nature, physical activity, human connection, mindfulness, and professional coaching and counselling) and mental health recovery. It also briefly explores the potential implications of the charity’s approach in tackling health inequalities. Where appropriate, this review also seeks to highlight gaps in current literature and evidence. View report online here.
From the authors - Dr Trisha Chauhan, Amy Edwards-Smith, Isabel Goodall, Dr Anna Kenyon, Dr Robynne Wadsworth & Richard Whall; “The integrated model delivered by Mind Over Mountains is supported well by the available, and growing, body of academic evidence. Each of the components of that model (nature, physical activity, human connection, mindfulness and coaching and counselling) can be seen, through the literature, to promote mental health and wellbeing in a variety of powerful ways. We look forward to continuing to work with the charity, and with other nature-based providers and practitioners, to demonstrate the effectiveness of these innovative approaches to mental health and wellbeing”.
CEO of the charity, Ian Boyd, states: "We are proud to be an evidence and research-backed mental health charity, and this review is an important step in continuing to demonstrate that our approach is both credible and effective. The combination of nature, movement, human connection and professional support sits on a strong and growing body of academic evidence, and we see it reflected consistently in the outcomes experienced by the people we support.
Alongside this, we are increasingly able to demonstrate our social return on investment, showing not just that our work improves wellbeing, but that it delivers significant value back into society. That matters, because if we are serious about prevention and long term mental health, we need approaches that are not only impactful, but sustainable and scalable.
NatureMind creates the space to bring all of this together. It allows us to connect research, lived experience and frontline delivery, to share what we are learning, and to be open about where the gaps still are. Our role is to help align that insight with partners across health, policy and the voluntary sector, so that nature based approaches can become a more recognised and embedded part of the wider system.
We are hugely grateful to the University of Lancashire and all of the contributors to this review. Their work strengthens the evidence base for the whole sector and helps move us closer to a future where this kind of support is available to everyone who needs it."
The 2024 NatureMind report paints an encouraging picture of green social prescribing – but it also outlines important recommendations for its future growth & development.
To reach its full potential, green social prescribing needs to be supported by better approaches to outcome measurement & training, & a renewed focus on communities and their connection to nature. But most of all, effective scaling of green social prescribing now requires the meaningful investment that can help to unlock the significant benefits that we know can accrue, both to patients & a struggling NHS.
This report is being shared widely & we as a collective are seeking to influence policy through it. We encourage you to share it widely too. View report online here.
This year’s summit will pick up where this report leaves off – and will be entitled “Green Social Prescribing: Scaling Up What Works”. It will take place at Towneley Hall in Burnley.
We will be looking to identify the levers that will enable a rapid scaling up of the provision that works well – provision that delivers great outcomes for individuals, & which reduces the burden on our NHS.