Connect with nature – school pack | Mental Health Foundation

Connecting with nature in a great way you can help young people improve and maintain their mental health and wellbeing.

This school pack on nature provide the materials and resources needed to support pupils to understand:

how connecting with nature is good for mental health and wellbeing; and
the different ways we can connect with nature, reflective of our individual circumstances.

The resources in this pack were developed with pupils and staff participating in our Peer Education Project (PEP). PEP is a mental health, school-based project that aims to improve the mental health literacy of pupils. The project is freely available to any UK and international school.  

The pack is designed to be used in secondary schools, but it also has lots of useful information for primary schools.

The pack includes:

A lesson plan with PowerPoint slides and worksheets, that support pupils to explore the topic of connecting with nature in more depth.
An assembly plan with PowerPoint slides and posters to support the development of a whole-school approach to connecting with nature for mental health.
Helpful guides for pupils, school staff, and caregivers on supporting ourselves and others to connect with nature.

Over the past year, I have learned how important it is to connect with the natural world around us… Whenever I feel stressed about school, I now decide to go on a walk to reconnect with myself… It has made me appreciate the simpler things, such as the flowers and the noise of birds singing, and their power to make me feel calmer.

Peer Educator - Peer Education Project