Green Health Network meeting

Are you involved in a project or activity that gets people outdoors and benefits their health and wellbeing? We’d love to hear from you!  The Green Health Network is meeting on Tuesday 24th October in Brodick Hall, and is a chance for people on Arran to come together, learn, share ideas, and make connections. As …

Green Health Week

This month Green Health Weeks runs from Saturday 13th to Friday 19th May. Scotland’s Nature blog takes a look at what green health is, why it’s so important and what we’re doing to encourage it. Scotland’s great outdoors is outstanding and provides a wealth of amazing places for physical activity and connecting with nature – …

Heather Lodge: Social Enterprise

Arran’s holistic therapy centre develops as a Community Interest Company Heather Lodge, in Brodick, is pleased to intimate its recent incorporation as a Community Interest Company. Since 2017, the Heather Lodge team has aimed to provide conventional and holistic therapies of the highest quality, delivered by motivated professional therapists, complementing the work of statutory agencies, …

Health and wellbeing community conversations

News from ACVS on some forthcoming health and wellbeing meetings: North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership are running focus groups in January 2023 to collect your views and experiences of current mental health and wellbeing supports via your GP surgery and the wider community. If you would like to join the conversation, please book to …

Qigong on Lamlash Green

Free Qigong classes on Lamlash Green on Saturday mornings with Essence of Soul Yoga What is Qigong? A qigong practice Qi Gong literally translates as ‘energy cultivation’ and is a harmonious, cleansing practice for vitality and balance: invigorating joints and muscles through slow, considered movement. It first appeared in 500BC and forms the basis for …

Arran Well-Being Cafes – dates in June

The Arran Well-Being Cafes are being held indoors and our thanks go to ACVS for the use of the gazebo and COAST, Shiskine Golf and Tennis Club and Ormidale park for allowing us to use their facilities. The Cafes are now being held in the following venues from 2.00 to 4.00pm: Lamlash Church Hall on …

Our NHS – why it is worth protecting for everyone

By Sally Campbell There are many people who believe the NHS should be converted to a privatised private insurance scheme. Many of those advocating it are involved with the private companies providing health care, both here and especially in America. Lobbying the government has been a feature, especially as Brexit approaches and the UK government …

The ecological dimension of mental health

Following our feature last month on the allotments at the Arran Community Land Initiative, Judy Wilkinson, writer and allotments campaigner, argues that disconnection from nature breeds alienation, and looks at community growing as a mechanism for re-connecting people to the natural world. In 1995, Sarah Conn wrote in ‘Ecopsychology’ that we have cut ourselves off …