The National Trust has announced a partnership with mental health charity Mind in efforts to address the UK mental health crisis and end unequal access to nature

The National Trust – a UK charity that works to preserve, protect and manage historic places and natural beauty – has just announced its 10-year strategy, marking its 130th birthday. As part of its efforts to tackle the climate crisis, the charity has pledged to restore 250,000 hectares of land. The benefits of this strategy are vast, including restoring water quality, supporting landowners, reducing flood risk and improving soil health. What’s more, this also promises to open up more green spaces for communities, growing people’s access to nature and helping to end unequal access to natural beauty. 

Determined to help address the UK’s mental health crisis, the trust has teamed up with mental health charity, Mind, amongst other organisations, to ensure that its spaces can support people’s mental health - particularly among the younger generations. Highlighting the importance of getting out in nature, the National Trust notes that access to nature still remains unequal, and the impacts of mental ill health are being felt across the country, with 17 million working days lost per year due to mental health-related issues. 

In efforts to make nature more accessible, the National Trust is working with its founding partners, Natural England and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to encourage towns and cities to take part in its new programme – Nature Towns and Cities. The initiative will support 100 towns and cities to grow their network of green spaces so that everyone can enjoy time in nature close to their homes. 

A spokesperson for the National Trust commented on the programme, saying “We hope this partnership will support people with mental health issues to enjoy the benefits National Trust places can bring.”

The programme is set to launch publicly this summer, but smaller-scale partnerships are already beginning to take place, such as “Hope Walks” organised by Cornwall Mind for those affected by suicide. 

Outlining its 2025 - 2035 strategy in detail, the trust vows to keep investing in conserving houses, gardens and collections to provide enriching and engaging experiences for everybody who visits its sites. They also pledge to improve the way their destinations are presented and interpreted, to make them more accessible. “It's about removing practical barriers like distance, as well as emotional barriers like belonging. Because nature, beauty and history belong to everyone,” the trust comments. 

By 2050, the National Trust aims to enable all people to enjoy access to natural and historic places and feel the benefits in their everyday lives, whilst fostering a greater sense of belonging. 

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If you’re feeling inspired to get involved, whether through volunteering, fundraising or the “Adopt a Plot” scheme, find out more about how you can support the National Trust at nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us