- Year
- 2025
- Publisher
- The British Academy
Abstract
This paper examines the opportunity for nature recovery in prison systems in England and Wales.
It identifies that this is an environment requiring a place-sensitive approach, with challenges relating to the activity that may be undertaken towards nature recovery amidst a population with multiple healthcare issues.
Through the presentation of a case study of a programme (Greener on the Outside for Prisons), the paper explores how these challenges can be managed, and provision made for nature and people to recover together.
The case study discusses how prisoners and staff connect with nature, enabling partnerships with health, environmental and ecological organisations to develop initiatives that benefit both the prison landscape and those who live and work within it.
This initiative provides learning opportunities beyond the gate, providing the prospect of integration with other policy approaches in other settings.
Key themes
Health promotion, ecology, wellbeing, nature-connection, prison, prisoners, justice
About the authors
Andy Carmichael is the co-ordinator for the Centre for Sustainable Transitions at the University of Lancashire where he has worked on projects to build resilience to climate change through collaborative partnerships between universities, government, and the business sector. He is interested in the link between green space, nature-connection, and wellbeing and currently works with prisons across England to evaluate nature-based interventions for the health of participants and staff.
Michelle Baybutt is a Professor of Mental Health and Social Justice at the University of Cumbria and chairs a Global Working Group on Healthy Settings, leading on prisons. She is passionate about prisons as a setting for fostering health and wellbeing: notably, the duality of governance/prison health systems and implementation of sustainable public health interventions - leading a trailblazing whole system nature-connection programme in prisons for people experiencing multiple interlinked and complex, health needs.