Blog
Knowledge sharing across disciplines: Lunchtime webinar exploring how to set up community nature projects
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
We were incredibly pleased to host a lunchtime learning webinar on setting up a community nature project on May 6th.Bringing together four fantastic speakers, the 1.5 hour session shared both practical advice and inspiring personal stories stemming from their diverse perspectives.
Our research has found that many different kinds of knowledge are needed for community nature projects to successfully …
COP26 Through the lens of disability and Inclusion
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
The GDI also includes on their team, design alumni of the RCA University, and as part of an MSc in Assistive Technology about 5-6 years ago, Inclusive Design was
COP26 Through the lens of psychology and faith
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
In this event, the talks focused on mental health and wellbeing, seen through the lens of communities and faith. The panel was made up of an interesting blend of faith and spiritual leaders, and
COP26 Through the lens of enterprise and entrepreneurship
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
The venue was The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, gracious hosts in a stunning building close to pleasant walks, a maze, and Glasgow’s Ski and Snowboard Centre. A beautiful and fitting place to alleviate the physical and
COP26 BIPOC Through lens of Indigenous Cultures
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
Nathalie Seddon, at another COP talk I attended (separate blog here), a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford and founding director of the Bunloit NbS, says:
‘We are living in an almost dead, empty ecosystem’.
Just 4% of mammals on the planet are wild? 96% are eitherCOP26 Many lens
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
If you know Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, and the Hero’s journey – I came back with the ‘elixir’ for
Green Social Prescribing – A Walsall Case Through Design-led Research
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
There is ample evidence of wellbeing pathways linked to nature,
Engaging with nature for mental health and wellbeing: post lockdown challenges for green social prescribing
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic there was a significant ongoing shift in public health thinking and practice towards a place-based approach, evidenced in part by the dramatic turn to non-clinical interventions in the form of social prescribing.
Green social prescribing (GSP)- linking people “to nature-based interventions and activities, such as local walking for health schemes, community gardening and food-growing projects”– …
Design research update
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
As a key part of our design process, we have spent the last few months focusing our research on the brilliant nature- based, community projects that exist throughout Walsall.
We have been incredibly lucky to have been welcomed so warmly into these communities and we have learned so much from them – from the motivation that inspires action to the …
Environments by design: health wellbeing and place
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
This paper explores the value of design practice in innovating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) – actions that work with nature to address environmental and societal challenges – in the post-COVID world.
The paper focuses on social innovation actions utilising blue and green space for health and wellbeing, which expands the concept of ‘green prescription’ to include wider communities and the public.…
The art of the hyper-local
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
Nature-based solutions (NBS- social programmes and physical interventions involving nature/natural environments aimed at addressing urban environmental, social and economic challenges) are an emerging priority in post-Covid ‘building back greener’ urban agendas.
Engaging with natural environments boosts human physical and mental health, and is effective in addressing health inequalities. However, urban populations with high levels of health inequality may struggle to …
Roundtable discussion with critical friends: The role of design in nature engagement
by Mind Kind | August 30th, 2022
Do design and designers have a role to play in Nature based Solutions for wellbeing, and if so, what might that role look like?
The value that design could bring to community led NbS is a key area of exploration in the Nature’s Way project. Our early thinking had led us to hypothesise that approaches from the disciplines of service …
What role can Service Design play in Nature based Solutions? A student reflection workshop
by Mind Kind | August 26th, 2022
On the 28th of June, the Nature’s way research team hosted a digital workshop with students from MA Service Design, reflecting on their group projects that explored how to help people better connect with nature.
As part of our larger research project, first year students were given a brief in January to develop projects that aimed to use service design …
Research: Walsall Council Community Champions
by Mind Kind | January 27th, 2022
Supporting Community Champions To Make A Difference
About Walsall metropolitan borough councilWalsall is located to the North West of Birmingham and is one of the four authorities that make up the Black Country. Like many areas, the predicted growth of Walsall’s older population (> 65) is higher than the national average at 12.4%. Its younger population is also predicted …
Research: Natures Way
by Mind Kind | January 27th, 2022
A UKRI project, Nature’s Way is a research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to co-create, pilot and disseminate an innovative approach using (co)design to connect people to nature for health and wellbeing during and after the COVID pandemic.
The project is led by the Royal College of Art, in collaboration with the University of Sheffield …