Great Outdoors is a new Landlife project - one of 8 in Knowsley - and part of the Northwest Target: Well-being programme.

Target: Well-being aims to help people achieve healthier and happier lives. It's a programme of over 90 projects that increase exercise, encourage healthier eating and promote mental well-being. Funded by £8.9m from the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund, it's managed by Groundwork Northwest for the benefit of targeted disadvantaged communities across the Northwest.

Great Outdoors will work with local people - particularly those with health problems - using native wildflowers in local green spaces, community areas and allotments. We are developing creative physical activities, such as sowing wildflower seed, walks to enjoy and identify plants, seed collection, volunteering to work with plants, visits to other nature sites, and joining some of the National Wildflower Centre's environmental activities.

We aim to develop 4 health and well-being environment programmes around

• physical activity
• mental health
• workplace health
• the health benefits of the natural environment

• 5.5 hectares of wildflower improvements to greenspaces in Knowsley
• Public involvement in practical environmental activities
• Creating an exciting events programme with other project partners
• Workshops for health workers and employers
• Volunteer wildflower taster sessions
• A new health and environment partnership in Knowsley to promote good practice and new ideas

For more details, contact jpell@landlife.org.uk
Tel 0151 737 1819

Sunday July 5th 2009
Great Outdoors will be promoting Wildflowers for Health at the Halewood Community Festival, Knowsley, Merseyside, at Halewood Leisure Centre.

The Festival runs from 11am to 4pm. A free Park and Ride bus service runs from Okell Drive, English Rose Pub, Mackets Lane (Arncliffe/Campbell), Higher Road (Torrington Estate/New Hutte Lane) and Leathers lane to and from the Leisure Centre.

We will be part of the new Health and Wellbeing marquee, making wildflower buttonholes, with family activities and loads of information about how nature can improve your health! For more information contact Janet Pell on 0151 737 1819 or jpell@landlife.org

Nature on the bench
Great Outdoors is talking to local people about the impact that nature and wildflowers have on their physical and mental health and wellbeing. We have started some conversations called' Nature on the Bench'. People sit and chat with us about their experience - and love for - nature and wildflowers and help us to understand more about how nature supports us in our daily lives.

We also want to trace older peoples' memories of the close contact they enjoyed with nature, and use this to encourage local action now for wildflowers and health.

Click on this link to watch these natural conversations.

We will be adding more ' Nature on the Bench' conversations - if you are a Knowsley resident and would like to take part, please contact jpell@landlife.org.uk or tel Janet Pell 0151 737 1819

March 2009
Wildflower Charity Scoops National Health and Humanity Award for wildflowers in Knowsley
Environment charity Landlife, based at the National Wildflower Centre in Knowsley, near Liverpool, has been awarded a national award for its work for health and the environment by the UK Public Health Association (UKPHA)

The Michael Varnam award is presented annually by the UKPHA in recognition of the outstanding contribution to Health, Humanity and Environment. Press Release

Landlife Senior Manager Janet Pell receiving the award from Lord Philip Hunt at the UK Public Health Association national forum in Brighton

Valley Road, Kirkby and Kirkby Town centre project sites.

For more project images Archive Images

Latest briefing APRIL 2008. PDF file.

Health Promotion newsletter. PDF file.

Great Outdoors

Shimmy Shimmy Shake
Shimmy Shimmy Shake Shake provides a community based dance
project offering nine week courses of two weekly dance sessions in
twelve neighbourhoods. The project provides an accessible form of
exercise promoting active lifestyles in which dance will be used to break
down perceptions and barriers which may exist with more traditional
physical activity programmes. There will be sessions to suit all ages,
abilities and experience of dance.

The initiative will also train local residents to be able to deliver dance skills in their neighbourhoods, building sustainability into the project. For further information please contact Linda Richings at Knowsley MBC on 0151 443 2275.

Cafe Society
Café Society will work with local people to create a community café in
Knowsley. This initiative will be the development stage in the café’s life
and will help to root it in the community – giving an opportunity for local
people to have roles in running an exciting social enterprise.
The project will take a creative consultation approach whereby groups will
work with artists, designers, gardeners and cooks to realise their plans.
Participants will directly affect the development of the café - from the fantastic food served, to the inspiring environment it is served in. For further information please contact Squash Nutrition on 0151 727 3994.

Ageing Well Plus
Ageing Well Plus aims to train older people to become volunteer
senior health mentors and equip them to support other older people in
their community to make healthier lifestyle choices and to have better
access to community activities. Using a partnership approach it will:

*Target and engage older people in Knowsley
*Develop an holistic programme of physical activity and healthy eating
*Run a variety of workshops and activities
*Utilise the skills of specialist staff to improve both the mental and physical health of participants.

The project hopes to encourage older, less socially active individuals to join groups and mix with their peers and will provide training and access to information relating to physical activity, healthy eating and mentoring. Participants will also be encouraged to share general health information with their family, friends and community. For further information please contact Paul Mavers at Age Concern on 0151 443 4875.


Families Fit For Life
Families Fit for Life is a unique programme to be delivered in
partnership between Knowsley Council for Voluntary Services and
Homestart Knowsley aiming to provide parents and children with the
skills, knowledge and opportunity to improve mental and physical
wellbeing, while enabling them to live healthier more active lifestyles.
All families taking part will have the opportunity to access one to one
volunteer support to help them through the programme. They will also receive training, including practical group work and residential sessions at Stephen Park in the Forest of Bowland.

Families Fit for Life will help those taking part to have healthier lives and may also benefit future generations. For further information please contact Sandra Evans, at Homestart on 0151 480 3910.

Pedal Away
Pedal Away is a Borough wide initiative providing a variety of cycle
related activities aiming to have a long term positive effect on the physical
and mental well being of individuals.
Working with targeted groups to help them become more active within
their daily routines, ‘Pedal Away’ will promote cycling as an accessible and
enjoyable form of activity and offer participants the chance to take part in
regular group bike rides, led by qualified cycle trainers, who have experience and knowledge of cycling and health initiatives.

The cycle rides and related activities will be low-risk, focus on fun and enjoyment and increasing confidence in cycling with the aim of encouraging participants to cycle regularly. For further information please contact Ian Tierney at Cycling Projects on 01925 243213. Community cycle rides info.

Retain Regain
Retain/Regain supports employees in organisations across the
Borough who are experiencing stress, depression or anxiety when
returning to the workplace after a period of absence or individuals who
have recently become unemployed due to the same conditions. It offers
a solutions-based approach to working with individuals and their
employers to enable them to retain or regain employment by offering:
* Disability Discrimination Act advice
* Liaison, consultation and mediation with employers
* Counseling and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
* Career choice and planning
* Job search and preparation
* Support to access training and education options
* Stress management programmes for the workplace.

Retain/Regain is provided by Richmond Fellowship in partnership with Merseyside Listening Ear, and is staffed by specialist employment advisors and accredited counsellors. For further information please contact Wendy Bayliss at Richmond Fellowship on 0151 707 0242.

Preschool nutrition
Pre School Nutrition will develop, pilot and evaluate a nutrition training
course and programme of support for early years caterers, staff,
parents and children.

The programme will focus on assisting early years settings to promote healthy eating in order to help children aged two to five years to develop healthy food preferences and meet the national nutrition targets: reduce sugar, saturated fat and salt and increase consumption of fruit and vegetables. For further information please contact Modi Mwatsama at Heart of Mersey on 0151 928 7820