Social Prescribing Evaluation Tool

The Challenge

Outscape are working with Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) to build the case as to how the environment sector and Northern Ireland’s wider natural heritage delivers health outcomes.

The outworking’s of an annual conference in 2015 was a report entitled ‘Delivering Health through the Environment’, this acted as the catalyst for NIEL guided by the Green Recovery Health Working Group to:

• advocate the role of the environment in supporting human health and wellbeing
• seek further collaboration and integration of health, voluntary, community and environment sectors to expand the provision of Nature Based Treatments and Social Prescribing.

Evidence on the interplay between mental health and the environment has grown significantly, with the clear link between engaging with outdoors and mental health and wellbeing having been shown in Northern Ireland. The COVID-19 crisis has added an even more urgent need for win-win solutions to both environmental and health challenges.

The development of a Social Prescribing Evaluation Toolkit will allow NIEL member organisations to undertake a robust assessment of the impact of their activities in an effective, accurate and consistent format.