As a profession we are familiar with the concept of ‘holistic’ care for children. But this concept often does not take account of aspects relating to interaction with a natural environment.

Many studies have emerged on the health benefits nature gives us, for example:

• o   Spending enough time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and increase emotional wellbeing.
• o   Green learning environments help the cognitive and social development of children.
• o   Playing in a natural ‘green’ environment supports the development of motor skills, activates and strengthens senses and supports more diverse and creative activities.

In this workshop you will hear how to access these health benefits and use them as Nature Assisted Interventions with children placed in foster care. This practice approach has been developed by Fostering Provider Perhehoitokumppanit Suomessa Oy. The approach broadens the traditional definition of human welfare beyond the social environment and into the ecological environment. It links these two together to form a holistic concept of sustainable wellbeing.

The workshop takes a look at the basic ideas of sustainable wellbeing and how they can be linked in social work practice and especially with children in care. This approach is described in Harriet Rabb’s article “Sustainable Wellbeing and Social Work with Children: Promoting Our Connectedness with Nature through Nature- Assisted Interventions” which was published on March 2017 in IFSW e-workbook ‘Social Work Promoting Community and Environmental Sustainability’. 

This workshop also offers the opportunity to discuss and share thoughts on how to promote confidence in the future, in relation to environmental change, for our children and young people in care who are especially vulnerable, as well as how to keep them both physically and emotionally safe.  Opening the discussion on this and sharing ideas is one step forward towards developing common good practice on this subject.