Nature for health and wellbeing in prison environments

There is strong and growing evidence that spending time in nature and greenspaces plays an important role in improving mental and physical health and promoting social connection.

Nature and greenspaces are not what one might associate with secure environments such as prisons, however it could be argued that individuals living in these settings would benefit the most from having such access.

Offenders are disproportionately likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds, had traumatic experiences, and face a myriad of challenges including substance abuse and mental health issues.

Leading academics are researching the impact of nature contact on prisoners' wellbeing. Gardens in prisons typically serve as locations for work rather than an opportunity for green social prescribing. Nature-based and environmental initiatives provide therapeutic exercise, facilitate rehabilitation, and promote behavioural change which can lower violence, reduce self-harm and decrease assaults on staff.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is embarking an ambitious programme to create 20,000 new prison places across the prison estate including six new prisons. It has a key role to play in nature recovery including restoring, protecting and creating habitats, increasing woodland, supporting pollinators and key species, and achieving biodiversity net gain on new build developments.

This webinar explored key design principles to balance security, biodiversity, and prisoners’ wellbeing. It also provided insight into the practicalities and benefits derived by offenders, their families, and the personnel working in the prison service from engaging in nature-based interventions, and shed light on the impact of some of these critical initiatives.