|
|
<< back | contents | next >>
How Woodlands can be used for Health and
Wellbeing?
1)
Introduction
The
Welsh Assembly Government is committed to improving the health and
well-being of people in Wales. Health care practitioners and support
workers are therefore developing a range of options for reaching this
goal. The benefits of regular physical activity are evident from
numerous academic and public funded studies. The physical benefits of
increasing physical activity include reducing and preventing:
-
coronary
hearts disease
-
stroke,
-
some
cancers,
-
High
blood pressure,
-
diabetes,
-
obesity,
-
arthritis
The mental
health benefits of both increasing physical activity and of exposure
to the woodland environment can help to –
-
reduce
and prevent stress,
-
ease
mild to moderate depression,
-
enhance
self esteem,
-
improve
cognitive function
This guide
presents the case for using woods and woodland based activities to
promote physical activity and in turn physical and emotional
well-being, especially among hard to reach members of the community.
In this section the importance of providing an inclusive, calming and
attractive natural environment to encourage and sustain participation
in health and wellbeing programmes will be explained. The following
section then describes how a range of woodland activities can be used
to engage people in physical activity and develop their confidence
and a sense of accomplishment. |
|
