Articulating volunteerism, wellbeing and sustainability in the context of green social prescribing

Abstract

Green social prescribing (GSP) is “the practice of supporting people to engage in nature-based interventions and activities to improve their mental and physical health” (NASP, 2021, para 3). In the UK, green social prescribing has emerged at a time of multiple crisis in mental health, obesity, loneliness, biodiversity loss, the climate crisis and widening inequalities post the Covid pandemic (Alford, 2023, pp.5-6). Wellbeing is invoked as a core outcome from green social prescribing however its conceptualisation is varied and often uncritical. This research examines the current state of the art in green social prescribing provision, and in doing so critically assesses the adequacy of the conceptual notions of wellbeing that are deployed in this policy arena. It uses a rigorous, three-dimensional relational wellbeing approach to explore how ideas about wellbeing translate in reality within two volunteer involving green social prescribing case study projects in North Somerset, UK: 1) The Somerset Activity and Sport Partnership (SASP) health walk project and 2) the Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT) nature connection project.
This research challenges and renegotiates the dominant individualised view of wellbeing currently influencing green social prescribing. This way of thinking about wellbeing lies at the heart of many of the tensions found as alternative, relational, approaches to wellbeing are pursued in practice. Green social prescribing is a promising policy which presents a radical approach to healthcare, centred around a complex bio-psycho-social-ecological understanding of human wellbeing. However, an overall tendency in current UK government policy to reduce wellbeing to an individual, economic, physical level limits this more complete, holistic conceptualisation and practice of wellbeing. This research highlights the translational role of volunteering and participating in green social prescribing in linking personal, social and ecological wellbeing. However, it also illuminates how current policy thinking, contextual issues, and resource constraints inhibit relational approaches to wellbeing. This thesis provides greater clarity and consistency to the malleable, contested idea of wellbeing in this field and makes recommendations for how green social prescribing projects might be improved.

Date of Award	14 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	James McGregor (Supervisor) & Julie Barnett (Supervisor)