In 2012 Natural England commissioned Dementia Adventure (a Community Interest Company which connects people living with dementia, with nature and a sense of adventure) to review the existing evidence of the benefits and barriers facing people living with dementia in accessing the natural environment and their local green space. The report will be used as the basis to develop a partnership project to address the barriers, enable more people living with dementia to enjoy the benefits of the natural environment and therefore advance policy and practice in Natural England’s Outdoors for All programme.
Through the Outdoors for All programme Natural England is working closely with a range of partners to help deliver projects which seek to ensure that people living in deprived areas, the elderly, those with physical disabilities, mental health illness, learning difficulties and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities all have opportunities to access high quality natural environments.
As part of the Outdoors for All programme, Natural England is keen to help improve engagement in the natural environment amongst the elderly and in particular people living with dementia. This report should help to better understand the benefits and barriers facing people living with dementia in accessing the natural environment and their local green space, the effectiveness of current practice and the challenges of scaling up delivery.