A Dose of Nature at Beckenham Place Park

Watch the short video then pick up your prescription and take yourself off to Beckenham Place Park to get your Dose of Nature!

Prescriptions can be found at the entrances to the woodland in the park and can also be downloaded from the Urban Tree Festival site.

The prescriptions will help you maximise the mental and physical health and well-being benefits that you will receive from being out in nature. Created and written by Michelle Brandon, Horticultural therapist, they suggest actions you can take whilst wandering through the parkland and particularly the woodland. For example, slow your pace and look up! The prescriptions also help explain why being out in nature feels so good. For example, did you know that trees release chemicals called phytoncides which positively affect our mental and physical health when we breathe them in? Amazing!

Beckenham Place Park is a green oasis in the city. It is 96 hectares and almost 1/3 of that is woodland. The park is located in the London Borough of Lewisham and is easily accessible by public transport: the journey time from Blackfriars to Beckenham Hill station is just under half an hour! 

Mainline trains go to Beckenham Hill, Ravensbourne and Beckenham Junction stations; the number 54 bus passes the main gate; trams also stops at Beckenham Junction. There are cycle racks in the park. We encourage people to travel in sustainable ways to the park. There is very limited car parking in the park and it costs £2/hour (free for disabled badge holders). Visit www.beckenhamplacepark.com  for more information about travel and the park generally.

The beauty of this activity is that you can get your dose of nature at a time that suits you, and in a Covid-secure way as it is done independently. 

Download the prescriptions as printable PDFs:

Contributors

Michelle Brandon has over 20 years' experience as an RHS award winning garden designer, creating landscapes for public and private clients. Michelle studied Social and Therapeutic Horticulture at Coventry University and has worked as a horticultural therapist with Thrive at Battersea Park and Share community at Springfield hospital Tooting. Michelle is passionate about connecting communities within dense urban environments to nature. https://www.michellebrandon.co.uk/about

Lucy Mitchell works for Lewisham Council as the Community Engagement Officer for Beckenham Place Park. She knows the park like the back of her hand and is always happy to share tips about the best spots to see different species of wildlife, particularly birds. As a former secondary geography teacher, Lucy is particularly keen on assisting young people to benefit from being outdoors in the park. Lucy runs weekly volunteering sessions in the park, with tasks including woodland management and tending the park’s community garden and bees.