Carol Burrell, community wellbeing co-ordinator
Canals on prescription With many research studies showing that time outside can be a wonderful tonic for our mental and physical health, many people working in the social care, health, and voluntary sectors have been offering opportunities to spend time in green space for some time. Now the Canal & River Trust are getting involved too with ‘social prescriptions’ of activities by water. All designed to help people make friendships, build confidence and improve their health and wellbeing outdoors. It’s our community wellbeing co-ordinator, Carol Burrell’s job to deliver our programme. “Really it’s about having time for people and getting to know what their concerns are,” reflects Carol when we ask her to define what ‘social prescribing’ is. “To help improve people’s wellbeing, GPs can now refer people to us through a link worker like my colleague, Julie Ellender, who is a community connector for Nottingham City Council. It’s Julie’s job to foster links with organisations like us who can offer wellbeing support.” As Carol explains, both she and Julie act as that listening ear: “There’s huge variety, but you 8
might have someone who is struggling to cope after they’ve lost a partner. Or you might have someone who’s just lonely and feeling isolated, especially after lockdown. You can’t solve everything for everyone. But you can give them that space to clear their mind and open-up. There’s something about spending time by water that has a positive effect. It releases those endorphins. Gives people clarity, confidence and strength.” When we speak to Julie, she points out: “The activities such as paddleboarding, canoeing, walking tours, or volunteering that Carol coordinates are only the ice-breaker. Over a
