Canals on prescription in Nottingham
PEOPLE living in Nottingham may soon be prescribed an afternoon of paddleboarding, a wellbeing walk, or some canalside gardening.
A project making use of the Nottingham & Beeston Canal to help people tackle mental and physical health problems has been awarded nearly £50,000.
More than 75,000 people in Nottingham live within 1km of a waterway, and the canal runs for five miles from Meadow Lane Lock near Trent Bridge to Beeston Lock.
Linny Beaumont, partnerships and external relationships manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding and to be working with such a talented and diverse partnership to give local people access to a range of activities which we really hope will give them the help they need.
“With so many people living and working a stone’s throw from Nottinghamshire’s waterways, we think they have a key role to play in increasing the amount of social prescribing taking place in the county.”
Social prescribing is where GPs and other primary care professionals refer people to non-clinical services to support their health and wellbeing.
This is typically done through a link worker who connect people with charities, services and community groups for practical and emotional support.
Health boost
The Thriving Communities project will focus on the canal to provide physical activity, art, heritage, and other support to people referred through social prescribing pathways. It will also give those living along the canal – which runs from Nottingham to Beeston – access to activities to boost physical and mental health.
This includes canoe and paddleboard sessions, gardening along the canal, volunteering opportunities and wellbeing walks.
There will be photography courses, arts activities, cookery classes and, when Covid restrictions allow, communal meals at venues along the canal.
The project is being run by a partnership of local organisations including the Canal & River Trust, Nottingham Community & Voluntary Service, Notts County Foundation, Canalside Heritage Centre, Nottingham Photographers Hub and local foodbank Himmah.
Funding has been provided through the National Academy of Social Prescribing, Arts Council England, Natural England and Historic England.