Let’s Get Potting: Train the Trainer Workshops

We were pleased to recently host two ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions at the Nature & Wellbeing Centre supported by Natural England’s Green Community Hub in partnership with ecobirmingham.

These sessions were designed for Birmingham-based voluntary and community groups interested in integrating nature-based activities into their current mental health and wellbeing support services.

Sessions were delivered by Felipe Molina from Spring to Life and attended by 15 different representatives from a wide range of voluntary & community organisations in Birmingham.

Felipe explored the Five Ways to Wellbeing, looking at how simple indoor and outdoor nature-based activities can benefit the health and wellbeing of different communities.

We experienced a nature walk around the site to appreciate and connect with our surroundings, shared stories of how we connect with nature, and shared gardening tips.

Felipe delivered a practical activity of seed sowing and potting up, and participants were able to take home what they planted to nurture. We discussed how
some people can experience barriers to accessing green spaces and nature-based activities and how the organisations might support people to overcome these
barriers.

A follow-up session in January for both training cohorts will support connection and help design nature-based activities for their settings. Part of the funding will also pay for ‘starter packs’ of gardening tools and seeds to enable organisations to begin delivering their own nature-based activities.

We are excited to see where else this project will  lead, and would like to thank everyone that attended for their enthusiasm and interest in learning more about nature for health and wellbeing.