If you've been reading my blog for a while you will be familiar with the terms Green Care and Green Therapy but what about Blue Care or Blue Therapy?
Put simply Blue Care or Therapy makes use of sources of water such as the ocean, rivers, lakes, canals and even ponds to connect people with nature to support their physical or mental health.
Kate Campbell from the University of Wellington in New Zealand has researched Blue Therapy and the benefits for people and she believes that 'blue spaces provide us with distractions to take our mind away from the day to day hassles of life' as time near and on the water relax both our bodies and mind.
But what does this look like in practice? It could be a passive experience that focuses on 'just' being near water or an active experience such as water sports for example, surf therapy projects like the Wave Project, which offers a six week surf therapy course with a personal mentor and the opportunity to become a member of a surf club or offer their time as a volunteer afterwards.
The Wildlife and Wetlands Trust takes this further by offering a Blue Prescribing Programme which is based on the more widely known Social Prescribing Programme. These programmes enable medical practitioners to refer people to local non clinical projects that support health and wellbeing goals.
Next week I'm heading to the South Coast for a few days for my own small measure of Blue Care. I love the sound of the seagulls, the sight of the pier and the smell of the sea and I feel myself physically relaxing with every step I take towards the beach. Sounds like a good excuse to book a few more trips for the year!
