The Wellspring is a new project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, which is providing opportunities for local men to access mental health support through a number of different services, with a primary focus on health and wellbeing in nature.
Tragically men currently commit suicide at a rate of 13 per day in the UK; a figure that’s three times higher than it is for women. Buckfastleigh and Ashburton experience significant levels of rural poverty, meaning that many men are not in a position to access desperately needed mental health support outside of the context of what NHS primary services are able to offer.
Kicking off in the Spring of 2025, The Wellspring will:
- Bring men together in supportive groups that will provide opportunities for them to share their mental health challenges, which will not only be of benefit to them but also to their families and communities.
- Provide practical support for a local community woodland as well as opportunities for men to learn new skills; through our woodland stewardship volunteer programme.
- Provide mentoring opportunities for older men; and apprenticing opportunities for younger men; and in so doing develop a community of men of all ages supporting one another.
- Support individuals and families impacted by the cost of living crisis by providing free and low cost professional mental health support.
Co-mentoring
The Wellspring Mentoring Programme offers a powerful and affordable way to deepen your relationship with yourself and with other men who are at a similar stage in their journey of self discovery and self healing, through an initial weekend training (in the spring of 2025) and a supportive “buddy mentoring” framework within which to practice the mentoring skills you learn.
Low cost counselling
The Wellspring Project can provide eight sessions of low cost counselling for men who are in need of one to one support and cannot afford a standard session rate.
Send an email to ollie@wildoak.org.uk for more information and to apply for a low cost counselling place.
NatureWell
There’s an increasing body of evidence that the NatureWell Approach, based on the Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness and research by Derby University, is effective at increasing health and wellbeing.
In this programme, which is based at Druid Wood near Ashburton, we’ll be exploring each of The Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness: Contact, Beauty, Meaning, Emotion and Compassion.
Send an email to ollie@wildoak.org.uk for more information.
Men’s Movie Club
Men’s Movie Club is a collaboration with Totnes Cinema that features films that challenge and explore masculine narratives and identities and their relevance to our every day lives.