Mental Health Awareness Week’s theme this year is “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Moving your body, in whatever way works for you, is a great way to calm your mind and brings loads of physical benefits too.
#MomentsForMovement are different for everyone – going for a walk, gardening, singing, art, volunteering. And you don’t need to go to the gym or be an athlete to feel good through movement.
To celebrate the week, Greater Manchester has showcased, nationally and internationally, two projects supporting people to move.
Japanese university learn from Greater Manchester’s creative health strategy
Greater Manchester hosted researchers from Tokyo, Japan, who wanted to learn more about Greater Manchester’s Creative Health strategy and our commitment to becoming a Creative Health City Region, where creative activities support people’s mental and physical health throughout their life.
The group heard about current and future projects, for example, work with nurseries to develop children’s motor skills through dance, supporting COPD patients through singing and neurodivergent young people through creative mental health support.
The researchers also met staff at Venture Arts, Manchester Museum, Platt Hall, The Lowry and the University of Manchester to learn about the latest best practices in creative health, to explore how such approaches could be used in Japanese health and care and develop a partnership for ongoing international collaboration. Their first step when back home will be to translate the GM Creative Health Strategy into Japanese.
Natural England visitors experience Greater Manchester’s Nature for Health
Greater Manchester welcomed Natural England colleagues keen to learn more about Nature for Health, Greater Manchester’s green (nature-based) social prescribing programme.
Over 1250 people benefitted from GM’s two-year Nature for Health project, which worked with 64 organisations, to support people’s mental health through gardening sessions, community allotments, food growing schemes, conservation, preservation of canals, walking groups and much more.
The infrastructure for nature-based activity has continued to develop as partners support the regions’ environmental goals and people’s desire to get outdoors. Nature for Health supports people with severe mental health, as well as those facing the biggest health inequalities, to receive the benefits that being in nature can provide.
Find out more about Live Well, Greater Manchester’s movement for community-led health and wellbeing.
