Wild Skills Wild Spaces Part 2 officially launched at an event at Severn Farm Pond Nature Reserve in Welshpool in July 2023 where individuals and organisations already involved with, or interested in, the project came together for guided walks, talks and willow-weaving sessions. 

The new project will build on the successes and firm foundations of its award-winning predecessor (Wild Skills Wild Spaces (WSWS), which received a prestigious NHS Forest Award for Engaging People with Nature in 2021). Running until July 2025, it will be led by the same team – MWT, in partnership with Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) and Cardiff Metropolitan University – but is even more ambitious. Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust are urging anyone who feels they might benefit from the ecotherapy sessions to come forward.

Across its two-year duration, the project’s mission is to improve the mental wellbeing of 300 people and empower them to manage their physical and mental health in a sustainable way. Like its forerunner, Wild Skills Wild Spaces Part 2 is designed to monitor and improve people’s mental health and wellbeing through reconnecting them with nature and their environment. The target audience – adults and young people aged 12 years and over who are struggling with mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress and depression – will remain the same, but the project is even more people-centred, having been designed based on input from past participants. Individuals can be referred on to the ecotherapy sessions, via primary and secondary healthcare providers, such as GPs and mental health services, but people can also self-refer.

Wild Skills Wild Spaces Part 2 will incorporate a range of outdoor activities, from wildlife walks and food growing to bushcraft such as fire-lighting and green woodworking. The free, inclusive ecotherapy sessions will be delivered by a dedicated, trained team across various MWT nature reserves and other local wildlife-rich sites. As well as helping boost participants’ wellbeing, confidence, knowledge and appreciation of nature, the project will enable them to make a positive change for wildlife in their communities.

The project will also target marginalized groups – such as those on Probation – in north Powys, including Newtown and Welshpool, to remove barriers and get people back into society. This will be achieved through reconnecting people with nature, teaching them new skills and empowering them with formal qualifications in conservation to validate their personal development and potentially lead on to further education and employment opportunities.

“When I first came up with the vision for Wild Skills Wild Spaces many years ago, I couldn’t have dreamed how successful it would be in helping those in Powys struggling with their mental health," says Carla Evans, Head of People & Wildlife. "Thanks to a fantastic team running the project, it has exceeded all my expectations. This new funding from the National Lottery Community Fund will enable us to continue our pioneering project, helping the people of Montgomeryshire while simultaneously enhancing local wildlife habitats – a win-win for people and wildlife!”

To get involved with the project, as a participant or volunteer, or to find out more, email: ecotherapy@montwt.co.uk or visit www.montwt.co.uk/WSWS