The Nature Buddies Toolkit was developed as part of the Nature Buddies pilot project led by Natural England in collaboration with NASP, Nottingham CVS, Sea Change Devon, Active Devon, Nottingham Refugee Forum, UK SUP Fitness, Stepping into Nature and B:Friend Doncaster.
A Nature Buddy is a specially-trained volunteer who enables a person, on a one-to-one basis or as part of a small group, to overcome barriers to taking part in nature-based activities, such as a lack of confidence to get outside, to explore natural spaces and to connect with nature.
It includes information on:
- How to design a Nature Buddies programme that builds on the interests of both your volunteers and the people you work with
- How to enhance your offer to volunteers, recruit new volunteers, and give existing volunteers new ideas to develop their relationships with the people they support on a one-to-one basis or in small groups
- How to empower people to feel better, improving their mental health and other health outcomes, and to build social connections to overcome loneliness
- How to build people’s connection to the outdoor spaces and nature near them
- How to measure success and impact
