Connecting People & Nature Reflection

The Connecting People and Nature project received a 6-month extension, enabling the Connecting People and Nature engagement work to continue until the end of September 2026, instead of coming to an end in April 2026.

The Connecting People and Nature project, in partnership with The Ernest Cook Trust and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aimed to encourage people living in urban communities, particularly those dealing with low self-esteem, mental health issues and social isolation, to develop a deep and long-lasting connection to nature, which will hopefully see improvements in their wellbeing.

connecting people and nature group balsam pulling

From April 26-September 26, Abbie continued working with groups in the Lancaster and Morecambe communities, building on connections she began to make at the beginning of the year. There was a strong focus on building connections with established nature groups/organisations that already offered nature and wellbeing sessions in the Lancaster and Morecambe area, to enable participants to "move on", and continue their nature connection after their sessions with the CPAN project came to an end. This maximised the impact of the connections in the community, ensuring the Connecting People and Nature sessions had a legacy for the participants involved. 

From April 2026 – October 2026, Abbie has facilitated 35 sessions with groups from Lancaster and Morecambe. There has been a total of 115 new participants take part in this 6-month period totalling 297 attendances. 19 of these sessions were facilitated in the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, including Dunsop Bridge, Caton, Beacon Fell, and farms such as Whinney Hill Farm and Salisbury Farm.

A participant from Stanley's Community Centre in Morecambe passed on some feedback for the project:

"Thanks so much for your community engagement sessions you held at Stanleys. I didn't make much time for nature before this due to both physical and mental health limitations and thoroughly enjoyed each and every session. 

Your skills, personality and enthusiasm for nature and the link to well-being really helped to cement these feelings into my own mind and body and as a result of the sessions, I found myself having a sense of calm, peace and less physical pain alongside this. 

Having completed the course you held for us, I have signed up to further immerse myself in nature and now attend an allotment once a week through The Bay A Blueprint For Recovery. Again without you, I would not have gone on to continue to do this type of activity and especially not as regularly. 

I am now also booked onto a walk on the 17th July hosted by the Arnside/Silverdale Landscape Trust  as I have come to realise from experience that I do better in groups for motivation! I am also in the process of becoming a volunteer at Bee Adventures - I could go on, but clearly.... your sessions work well and should continue".