Woodlands.co.uk

March Wood in Kent – healing and learning outdoors

March Wood in Kent - healing and learning outdoors

The March Wood project in Kent is using nature to help young people and families with "additional needs" and adults with mental health issues.   We run educational and therapeutic programmes and teach a range of practical skills. For example we help people to use hand tools, identify trees and plants. We also do firelighting and show how to managing risk around fires and edge-tools. we also help young people and adults deal with social and emotional issues through group discussions and one-to-one therapy sessions.

Our project has been running for almost two years and we've worked with over 100 young people and their families; young people with physical disabilities that include blindness, young people with autism and ADHD. Often we find families that are struggling to connect with their children and adults with learning disabilities and they have all taken part in programmes that engage with nature and outdoor activities to address these issues.

Using the woodland for these programmes is transformational and feedback from users has been overwhelming. One young person who had suffered a trauma spent a weekend in the wood learning how to light a fire, build a den, climb trees and when he was feeling low he just found release by hitting sticks against trees. The woods gave him the freedom to ‘just be’ for a few days. His mum said how lovely it was to see her son smile again.

Longer term users are commenting that they take life a little slower now after spending time watching how the wood changes over the seasons. They now take the time to stop and notice the small things where before life was overwhelmingly busy.

Being outdoors in nature has such a calming effect on us as human beings. Whether we notice it at the time or not, at some point we all stop and will suddenly notice the first bluebell, or a robin sitting on the fence.

For this coming year the March Wood project plans to work even more on mental health and well-being. We will be doing wild food foraging, mindfulness and tai-chi as well as developing the community allotment.


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Discussion

Have forwarded on details to relevant personnel.

Blogs

19 March, 2021

HI

I am the new Social Prescriber in the Ashford Area joining a Team of 4 in the area, we work for Imago under the local PCN.
It would be great to come and visit you and find out more of what you do and i would like to introduce myself and share what social prescribing is about.
Hope to hear from you soon
Janine Moody
IMAGO
Social Prescriber Link Worker

Janine Moody

19 March, 2021

Hi, sorry have just seen your post. We have not had any issues with the council asking for change of permissions. Keen to hear your issues and what you have done to overcome them.

karen

15 May, 2017

Hello
I have been running a project not unlike yours for 12 years in Norfolk. I have had a constant battle with the council who say that I need planning permission for change of use if the woodland is being used as an education facility. We too host days for children with complex needs, and berieved siblings. I wonder if you have experienced the same problem’s with your local council?

Katherine Harris

12 February, 2017