Nature 4 Health
Nature 4 Health: An Update for Patients at Albany
We wanted to share an update on Nature 4 Health — the six-week nature-based wellbeing programme running in partnership with Albany Surgery and Kingskerswell & Ipplepen Health Centre.
Albany group complete
We’ve just finished our first Albany cohort, with nine participants meeting each week to explore local parks together. With building works underway at Albany Surgery, Newton Abbot Library kindly hosted the opening part of each session in a beautiful light-filled room. Community transport then took the group on to a different local park each week, which meant everyone could take part, including participants using mobility scooters. We held our final follow-up session a month on at Stover Country Park.
As one participant put it: “The top roof room in the Library was ideal — light and airy with a good vibe. The local parks were beautiful.”
What participants took away
The course is gentle by design — time to slow down, notice the natural world, and reconnect with what feels meaningful. For many, that was a new experience:
“I needed to learn it’s okay to take time and slow down. It’s okay to enjoy the moment for me.”
“I will learn how to deal with stress better and how to calm myself when I feel overwhelmed… simple things like walking in nature, listening to birds, or noticing trees and fresh air can improve my mood.”
“A couple of things: that I’m not alone in those feelings, to capture glimmers and moments of awe as I find myself in them, that nature isn’t far away.”
“It feels so obvious now that mindfulness and nature would go hand in hand. Definitely something I will continue to practise.”
The power of the group
Alongside nature, the group itself became an important part of the experience:
“I was sceptical but open. As the weeks went on, the group were warm and inviting and we gelled despite being a diverse group. Our group leader gave us the opportunity to explore nature in a different way and I felt enlightened at the end. I felt at peace.”
“What brought me the greatest benefit was the feeling of belonging to a group, the sense that someone was genuinely interested in what I had to say, the kindness I experienced, and an improved ability to relax when surrounded by nature.”
One participant summed it up simply: “I call it soft therapy. It’s gentle, warm and inviting… genuinely makes a difference.”
Interested in joining a future cohort?
Nature 4 Health is a gentle, supported course – no fitness level or special kit needed, and you can take part at your own pace. If you’d like to find out more, please email Clare (clare@immerse-in-nature.com) or Emma (emma@themindfulchoice.co.uk). The next Albany course starts on Tuesday 8th September 2026.
