Accredited training programme transforms healthcare practice in Sussex
A new report, Embedding Nature-based Practice and Nature Recovery Strategies into Public Healthcare (Ford, 2025), reveals how training NHS staff to take healthcare outdoors is both widening equitable access to nature and supporting the recovery of biodiversity across the NHS estate.
The study, funded by Natural England and delivered by Circle of Life Rediscovery CIC (CLR), demonstrates that when staff are supported to embed nature-based practice, the benefits extend far beyond individual wellbeing. NHS staff can act as stewards for the recovery of nature, while also enabling patients — including those who face the greatest barriers — to experience the therapeutic potential of natural spaces.
Key findings include:
- Equity of access: Outdoor healthcare gives patients and staff, including those most excluded from green space, direct and supported access to nature. The report highlights the importance of involving Experts by Experience in programme design to ensure patient voices shape provision.
- Biodiversity and stewardship: NHS staff can play a vital role in restoring habitats and supporting the Sussex Nature Recovery Strategy and NHS Forest initiatives. Training emphasises collaboration between health professionals, NHS estates, ecologists and community partners to deliver nature and health co-benefits.
- System-level impact: With the right support, nature-based practice can overcome barriers within NHS systems, creating therapeutic gardens, outdoor spaces, and woodland areas accessible to multiple services.
Marina Robb, Founder and Director of Circle of Life Rediscovery, said:
“This report confirms that nature-based practice is not just about individual wellbeing. It’s about health justice and ecological reciprocity. By training NHS staff, we ensure that people who would otherwise have little or no access to natural spaces can benefit — while also helping those spaces thrive.”
Sarah Davies, Natural England’s Principal Adviser for Partnerships in Sussex and Kent, added:
“Access to nature is a critical health equity issue. This training is enabling NHS professionals to embed outdoor practice in their services, creating lasting benefits for patients and contributing to the recovery of biodiversity across Sussex.”
A course participant reflected:
“It has helped me reconnect with the therapeutic component of nature and see the impact these interventions have had on my service users. It’s also given me the tools to support patients in caring for the land as part of their recovery.”
The accredited Level 3 Certificate in Nature-Based Practice continues in June 2026, hosted at Laughton Greenwood, East Sussex. Bookings are now open: circleofliferediscovery.com/certificate-in-nature-based-practice
Media contact:
Alana Avery
E: alana@circleofliferediscovery.com
T: 01273-814226
Hey Marina, congrats to you and the team on such a brilliant report, with such encouraging findings - especially that NHS staff are so keen to incorporate nature-based practices! Hopefully this becomes more and more widespread 🙏💚
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