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Drawing on the author's multi‐method research on the viability of specific ecotherapy practitioner training and curriculum design, this paper debates how the use of ecotherapeutic approaches can provide a two‐pronged system to achieve both individual health (at micro level) and public and environment health outcomes (at macro level). The research sought the views of service users, practitioners and educationalists through use of interviews, focus groups, a nominal group, and an ethnographic case study group. This research raised other considerations: namely, that people seeking personal recovery also, through stewardship of green spaces, may achieve unanticipated social capital and natural capital outcomes and thereby meet current multi‐disciplinary policy targets. This added social value has not been previously considered as an important dimension in people's well‐being and recovery from ill health or social exclusion. Such outcomes emerge from the idea of green spaces becoming a ‘product’ delivered to the community by people whose pursuit of personal recovery also directly contributes to improved public mental health.

Branching Out is a 12‐week ecotherapy programme for clients who use mental health services within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. Over the course of a year 110 clients attended the programme, of whom 77 (70%) completed the course. In order to ascertain the outcomes of the programme and the elements that appeared to facilitate change, semi‐structured interviews with clients (n=28) and two focus groups with clinicians (n=5 and n=3) from the referring services were conducted.The data gathered therein was analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). From the results, five themes emerged as client outcomes. These were: improvements to mental well‐being, improvements to physical health, provision of daily structure and routine, transferable knowledge and skill acquisition, and increased social networking and social skills development. Three themes pertaining to the service logistics (team building and social inclusion, contrast of environments and work and recognition) emerged as potential explanations for the client outcomes. There was a perception among clients and clinicians that Branching Out represented a ‘stepping stone to further community engagement’. The results reflect a recovery‐oriented approach to health care. The limitations of the evaluation and implications for the future are discussed.

The concept of utilising greenspace to promote and maintain mental health predates the development of almost all current treatment modalities. Although the use of greenspace as a therapeutic tool decreased throughout the 20th century, research in this area has grown exponentially over the last 20 years. This review examines the theory and increasing evidence base behind the psychological, social and physical health benefits of viewing and interacting with greenspace, and considers some of the common methodological limitations within the literature.Those who use secondary and tertiary care mental health services typically experience secondary problems due to reduced levels of social and physical activity. This review argues that the holistic benefits of greenspace make ecotherapy particularly appropriate for such a population. The review recommends that the effects of ecotherapy on those who use secondary and tertiary mental health care services be explored as part of an effort to redress the absence in the literature of quality studies in this area for this population.

Climate change is expected to affect people’s psychological well-being. Worldwide research indicates that humans need to interact with nature and its ecosystems to enhance cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and aesthetic development, in conjunction with art.

This chapter is structured in three distinct parts. The first part provides a detailed report on climate change and its impact on the everyday life of citizens. Furthermore, it attempts to link the development of art from rubbish and recyclable materials, as a way of awakening citizens to tackle climate change. The second part provides the necessary vocabulary related to climate change and trash art. Finally, the third and last parts include a variety of exercises aiming to further consolidate the terms mentioned in the text, in order to improve the grammatical and syntactical skills of students.

Drawing on experience of working in the area of mental health and the environment, key issues are examined, and the theoretical framework is explained, including the benefits to communities and to the local environment of working with nature.

The interview gave an opportunity for development of ideas underlying concepts including the natural health service, green health literacy and changes in behaviour during the pandemic.

The ways in which people and the environment benefit from interaction with nature are becoming well understood; in a sustainable model, the value of the local environment is appreciated and will benefit from the care of those involved in relevant activities. There is a need for targeted training for health professionals, environment agencies’ staff and the voluntary sectors.

The economic value of nature as a contributing factor in to mental health is an area for research which could have major influence in policymaking. A meeting of a number of disciplines could further bring together social capital, health economics and ecology.

Projects that are sustainable in every sense are those which are long term, whose value can be measured in environmental and economic terms.

Working models have been developed that involve people on the fringes of society and people with disabilities; they often become the movers in local organisations.

This is an extremely wide-ranging assessment of developments in the relationship between mental health and nature.

The number of gardening-based mental health interventions is increasing, yet when the literature was last reviewed in 2003, limited evidence of their effectiveness was identified. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current evidence-base for gardening-based mental health interventions and projects through examining their reported benefits and the quality of research in this field.

Studies evaluating the benefits of gardening-based interventions for adults experiencing mental health difficulties were identified through an electronic database search. Information on the content and theoretical foundations of the interventions, the identified benefits of the interventions and the study methodology was extracted and synthesised.

Ten papers published since 2003 met the inclusion criteria. All reported positive effects of gardening as a mental health intervention for service users, including reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants described a range of benefits across emotional, social, vocational, physical and spiritual domains. Overall the research was of a considerably higher quality than that reviewed in 2003, providing more convincing evidence in support of gardening-based interventions. However, none of the studies employed a randomised-controlled trial design.

There is a need for further high-quality research in this field. It is important that adequate outcome measures are in place to evaluate existing gardening-based mental health interventions/projects effectively.

This paper provides an up-to-date critique of the evidence for gardening-based mental health interventions, highlighting their potential clinical value.