A NEW project aiming to improve the prospects of people in Helensburgh and Lomond with poor mental health got under way this week.

The Duchess Woods in Helensburgh – the only local nature reserve in Argyll and Bute – is the venue for the 'Branching Out' programme run by the Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT).

The scheme, which already runs in other parts of Argyll and Bute and in nine NHS board areas across Scotland, is a 12-week programme running for five hours every week.

Argyll and Bute Council's Duchess Wood local nature reserve committee agreed earlier this year to approve the use of the woodland for the latest phase of the Branching Out programme.

Sara Maclean, the Branching Out co-ordinator for Argyll and Bute, said: “The Duchess Wood was the ideal location for us in Helensburgh and Lomond because of its status as a local nature reserve, which means it's protected for its biodiversity and for education and research.

“It's amenable, it's accessible and it's local, so it fits ideally with the point of Branching Out, which is about connecting people with nature and their local green space.

“Branching Out has funding to run three 12-week courses a year for three years in each location. This is the first year of the programme, but we're already seeing clear benefits, not just for participants but for the partners who are involved.

“The programme enables our partners, such as staff from our mental health teams, to carry out their day-to-day work in a different setting to the usual clinical environment.”

Branching Out, an award-winning initiative developed by Forestry Commission Scotland, is delivered jointly with local councils and NHS boards across Scotland, and is described as “an innovative development for adults who use mental health services in Scotland”.

Activities are adapted to suit the client group, site and time of year, and generally include physical activities such as health walks and tai chi, conservation activities including rhododendron clearance and bird box construction, bushcraft such as fire-lighting and shelter building, and environmental art sessions including photography and willow sculptures.

On completion of the course there's an awards ceremony where clients receive certificates of completion, tool handling and achievement - including, where applicable, John Muir Award certificates – and are signposted on to community-based leisure, volunteer and training opportunities.

So far in Argyll and Bute, 79 participants have been referred on to the programme, while 37 have completed the course and received their John Muir Discovery Award.

Seven 12-week courses have been completed, with two still under way, and eight further programmes are due to be delivered this year across the four NHS locality areas in Argyll and Bute.

Helensburgh councillor Aileen Morton, who chaired the Duchess Wood local nature reserve committee until this month's Argyll and Bute election, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to see Duchess Wood used as a location for the Branching Out programme, and this is something the Local Nature Reserve Committee as a whole very much welcomed when the proposal came forward.

“The Wood is already used by many, many people but this is a chance for it to be used for a specific purpose which can only be for the greater good of the local community.”