A Royal Visit to Brockholes

His Royal Highness Prince Harry went down to the woods today and had a wonderful surprise when he met young people on the Myplace project at Brockholes.

Prince Harry was at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust nature reserve to learn more about the project which is encouraging young people to get into the wild. This is being proven to offer huge health benefits. This National Lottery funded project is a partnership between the Trust and Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which is pioneering nature as a holistic therapy.

HRH went into the Viking Wood at Brockholes and met Myplace staff and participants as they took part in dead-hedging, bushcraft and mindfulness. He also chatted to young people involved in cooking bread and marshmallows over a log fire.

Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Officer Anne Selby said: “This visit has put the spotlight on our innovative project with the NHS, Prince Harry is clearly passionate about the subject of mental health and was so natural with the young people.

“Prince Harry showed real compassion to the participants who have struggled with mental health issues. He noticed one of the attendees looked overwhelmed, he circled back to reassure her and listened for a moment.

“He is on a real mission for mental health issues to be de-stigimatised, the biggest prize is for this sort of approach to be normalised and part of the system nationally. That’s the challenge. It was really great that senior delegates from the project’s funders, Our Bright Future, Big Lottery Fund and The Government Panel which distributes European Funding, were there. It was really good for them to see the practical side of Myplace.”

Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of Big Lottery Fund said, “It is great see that National Lottery funding for Myplace is creating opportunities for young people to get outdoors and access support for their mental health and wellbeing. We are proud to see their work and its impact being recognised today.”

LWT Health and Skills Project Manager Mike Winstanley said: “Our Myplace project works with young people in Lancashire to reconnect them with nature, building confidence whilst encouraging them to talk about their own mental health without stigma. Some of the young people have been speaking to HRH today about their own journey, describing how Myplace has helped them to recover from their own mental health conditions. I know it meant a lot to the young people to meet the Prince, they were excited to show off the project and the activities they are involved in.”

Sue Moore, Chief Operating Officer at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our partnership with the Wildlife Trust is so special because it goes such a long way in destigmatising mental health and giving the young people the space and confidence to talk about it with others. We really believe that spending time in the outdoors can make a huge difference and minimise the impact that their mental health could have on their adult lives. HRH has made a huge impression on the young people today and I’m sure they will remember this experience for a very long time.”

For more details of Myplace go to www.lancswt.org.uk.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• My Place is a partnership project between Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
• The MyPlace project is funded by the Big Lottery Fund using National Lottery funding and is one of 31 projects working with the Our Bright Future movement, a national consortium of 8 organisations which are coordinated by the Wildlife Trusts that is working to empower young people to become the next generation of environmental leaders.

To find out the latest updates on social media please follow:
Twitter:  @myplace2gr0w, @LancashireCare and @WildlifeTrusts

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust was established in April 2002 and authorised as a Foundation Trust on 1st December 2007. The Trust provides health and wellbeing services for a population of around 1.5million people. The services provided include community nursing, health visiting and a range of therapy services including physiotherapy, podiatry and speech & language. Wellbeing services provided include smoking cessation and healthy lifestyle services. The Trust specialises in secure, inpatient and community mental health services as well as offender health. Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust covers the whole of the county and employs around 7,000 members of staff across more than 400 sites.

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is dedicated to the protection and promotion of the wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside.  It manages 39 nature reserves and 20 Local Nature Reserves covering acres of woodland, wetland, upland and meadow. The Trust has 28,000 members, and over 1,200 volunteers.  To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www.lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129.

For more information please contact:
Georgina Hopkinson, Communications and Engagement Officer at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust [email protected] or 01772 695384.

Alan Wright, Senior Communications and Campaigns Officer at The Wildlife Trust       [email protected] or 01772 318372

Issued by Georgina Hopkinson in the communications department. For more information please email [email protected] or call 01772 695371.