Natural England

Exercise on your doorstep for free! The Gateshead Green Exercise Pilot has been a one year research programme to make use of local ‘green space’ as a resource for encouraging people to take exercise to help improve their health. The results of the study will be released at an event at the Sage on 10th May where all key partners will be in attendance.

Local people were involved in the study to obtain their views on what influences them to use green space for physical activity and how best to market the usage of it.  The study also brought together health and environment professionals, exploring how they could work together to encourage more use of green space and to provide a resource that people want to use. After all who needs to go to the gym when you can use the green spaces on your doorstep at any time for free?

Janine Ogilvie, Regional Green Exercise Development Co-ordinator, North East Community Forests (NECF) said: “I am proud to have developed this project with NECF from an idea myself and my colleague Bill Kirkup had a few years back to do something that is really going to make a difference, not only to the people of Gateshead but for the region.  I hope that as a result of this work, we will see cleaner and safer green spaces across the region that are well used by healthier happier people who live, work and play in the north east.  My role will be to ensure this happens over the next three years thanks to funding from the Northern Rock Foundation.  Now we know even more about what people want, we will work on solutions to provide it!”

Martin Shaw from Natural England, the major funder of the pilot said: ”People in the north east have lower rates of participation in physical activity than in Great Britain as a whole.  We need more, better managed green spaces, but we also need to get much better at marketing our green space to those who aren’t frequent users. We know there are fantastic green spaces out there, and we need to encourage people to use them”

Notes to Editors

• NECF is the parent company of Great North Forest and Tees Forests.
• NECF is a regional charity that delivers environmental improvements for the community, its key programmes include the creation of the regions Community Forests – Great North Forest and The Tees Forest. Green Exercise is a core activity of NECF linking health improvements to the benefit of access to the natural environment, green infrastructure, education and biodiversity.
• Natural England is here to conserve and enhance the natural environment, for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people and the economic prosperity that it brings.
• Northern Rock Foundation have contributed £99,000 to the project to fund the future development of Green Exercise in the region over the next three years. Northern Rock Foundation are a member of the regional green exercise working group.
• The need for the project was identified by the Regional Green Exercise Working Group, established in 2004 by North East Land Links (NELL).
• The Gateshead Green Exercise Pilot was a one-year action research programme funded by North East Community Forests, Natural England, Sport England and the Environment Agency and was led by Janine Ogilvie, Project Manager. Other key partners were Gateshead Council, Gateshead PCT and NELL.
• The stakeholder research was carried out by PEANuT (Participatory Evaluation and Appraisal in Newcastle upon Tyne).
• For more information please contact Janine A Ogilvie, NECF Regional Green Exercise Development Co-ordinator, janine.ogilvie@necf.org.uk Tel no: 01207 524888. Mobile: 07738 220145.