Green Health Partnerships
Local partnerships which piloted ways to make the most of green health opportunities.
The initial pilot of the Green Health Partnership approach ended in 2024. We have published a report which provides an overview of the development and impact of Scotland’s pilot Green Health Partnerships.
This report outlines the evolution of Scotland’s Natural Health Service programme which led to the piloting of Green Health Partnerships. It provides further detail on each of the partnerships and summarises their main outputs and impacts, and briefly considers lessons learned, wider green health activities across Scotland, and looks ahead to future developments.
Access the full report: Realising the Potential of Scotland's Natural Health Service in Practice.
What are Green Health Partnerships?
During 2018, four pilot Green Health Partnerships were established to demonstrate how better cross-sectoral co-ordination can mainstream approaches to increasing physical activity and improving mental health through engagement with the natural environment.
Led by local health boards and local authorities, these partnerships brought together the health, social care, environment, leisure, sport and active travel sectors to make more use of local green space as a health-promoting resource.
Additional Reports
Several evaluation reports of the Green Health Partnership approach have been published at different stages of the pilot. These can be accessed below:
- Green Health Partnerships in Scotland – evaluation of the first three years and a summary. This report shows how the GHPs’ activities in the first three years of operation (2018 – 2021) have helped them to achieve their five key aims.
- Green Health Prescription Evaluation for Dundee, Highland and North Ayrshire. This research sought to evaluate the green referral pathways that were at varying stages of implementation in Dundee, Highland and North Ayrshire.
- Green Health Partnerships in Scotland; Pathways for Social Prescribing and Physical Activity Referral. To supplement the collection of quantitative data by the GHPs, a qualitative assessment of stakeholders’ views on the progress of the GHPs during their first year of delivery was also commissioned from Edinburgh Napier University.
Last updated:
