Open Gates Outdoors

This week I attended an excellent two day training course on mental health first aid and as a result I am recognised by Mental Health First Aid England  ("MHFA England") as qualified to give mental health first aid. The training was delivered by Brendan at Mood Mental Health Training  and I can whole heartedly recommend it. What is poor mental health? MHFA England include the following conditions in its definition of poor mental health; anxiety, depression, and psychosis . There are obviously many different ways these conditions manifest themselves including eating disorders, self harm, hallucinations, delusions, and suicidal thoughts. Interestingly MHFA England makes a distinction between poor mental health and mental ill health with the latter being longer lasting, more easily diagnosable and less likely to be caused by a specific event.  What is mental health first aid? MHFA England define mental health first aid is the immediate intervention to support a person experi...

Green social prescibing is all the rage in public health circles and has been for a few years. Green social prescribing is the practice of supporting people to engage in nature-based interventions and activities to improve their mental and physical health, particularly in communities affected by health inequalities.  Walkers from Roundabout sketching during a recent green social prescibing walk delivered by Open Gates Outdoors In April 2023 George Yates set up Open Gates Outdoors as a social enterprise/community interest company with the specific and sole purpose of widening participation in the outdoors in and around Sheffield to communities that are isolated or vulnerable, ie suffer health inequalities. As a life long fell walker and fell runner it has always grated with me the very narrow post code range of those who regularly enjoy being active outdoors and access the health benefits of being so. When I retired from teaching in February 2023 I decided to try to widen the socia...

This week I was lucky enough to be at a presentation given by the River Don Project (www.the riverdon.org.uk). It changed the way I look at my environment and also the benefits that can come from the work of Open Gates Outdoors.  The presentation was given by Alban Krashi and Jonny Douglas of Opus Independents (www.weareopus.org.uk) an organisation that promotes system change in order to help tackle the most fundamental challenges facing the human race. It does this by encouraging us to view the world we live in and the systems that affect it from a completely different perspective..  The ultimate aim of the River Don Project is to achieve separate legal status for the River Don so its rights are protected in law. This may sound far fetched but it has been achieved in many parts of the world including  Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, India, New Zealand and even the United States. The most exciting part of the project for me was the creation of a web portal on which anyone can...

I was privileged to be invited by Rhyme and Reason booksellers in Hunters Bar Sheffield to Ruth Allen’s launch of her new book Weathering (Ebury Press, 2024). The book is an endorsement of the use of the outdoors in therapy and so is relevant to one of the core services of Open Gates Outdoors - life coaching in the outdoors.  The launch itself was a very pleasant evening drinking Moonshine while listening to the engaging conversation between the poet Helen Mort and Ruth. I was particularly interested in Ruth’s argument that erosion, or weathering, in nature is a positive process that leads to the growth and health of the landscape and this can be used as a metaphor for aging, or weathering, in people, ie it needn’t be seen as a negative transition. Having read the book there are other arguments made by Ruth that interest me. During the book launch it was observed a couple of times both from the audience and from Ruth’s interviewer that Ruth’s style is very lyrical. I totally endors...

Open Gates Outdoors – Roundabout Hostel Walk  Case Study On Tuesday 5 th  March, we had arranged with George Yates from Open Gates Outdoors to take some of our Young People on a lovely walk in the Peak District. It was perfect weather, and everyone was in good spirits. Rachel one of the Project Workers attended along with three Occupational Therapy Students to gain better experience working with young people. Four of the young people attended, which included Mason, Ahmed,  Dimitrii , and Stephanie.  George arrived at the hostel at around 11am and had a chat with the young people before heading over to the mini bus used to take us to the Peak District. The area we went to was called Frogga t t  E dge, and provided us with fantastic views all around. It was a sunny day, which meant it didn’t get too cold, and we could see the beauty of the countryside.  George was very knowl edgeable about the surrounding area, providing great bits of information along the wa...

This Blog has kindly been contributed by Zoe Williamson who runs an online grief support service. You can find out more about Zoe and her work at   https://www.my-goodbye.co.uk Grief, Nature, and Exercise....What’s the Connection? When experiencing emotional distress, we are often encouraged to spend time in nature to help us recover a state of equilibrium. It is also well documented that physical exercise releases the endorphins which can help calm anxiety. It seems probable then that combining these two concepts into the practise of regular outdoor exercise could help in managing the challenges of mental ill-health. But could this hypothesis be extended to the significantly challenging task of recovering from a traumatic bereavement? Yes, it could; the benefits for bereavement care are borne out not just by anecdotal evidence, but also by systematic research. Exposure to wildlife provides a meaningful and concrete reminder of the natural cycle of life and death. It helps u...