Since its Kick-off meeting in Barcelona, GreenME has achieved remarkable progress, laying the foundation for its mission of promoting mental health equity through nature-based solutions. As we mark the completion of our first year, the project’s scientific co-coordinators, Margarita Triguero-Mas and Helen Cole, reflect on the progress made and look ahead to an exciting second year of growth and impact.
A year ago, the GreenME project began its ambitious journey to position itself among key EU initiatives tackling mental health challenges by harnessing the power of nature. Today, we celebrate a successful first year marked by vital milestones, including the creation of a comprehensive project identity—complete with a logo, visual branding, and an engaging website—and the establishment of a strong presence in the scientific community. Through active participation in numerous conferences and events, GreenME has generated significant interest and played a pivotal role in building a European GreenCare Network.
As we transition into the second year, GreenME is proud to share the insights from its first phase, which focused on diagnosing the current status of green care across the project’s diverse study areas (Work Package 2 lead by Renata Giedych from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences) . The results highlight both the shared challenges and the unique opportunities each country faces in expanding nature-based therapies, integrating them in a model that includes also nature-based promotion and nature-in-everyday life, and broadly how contact with nature can improve mental health equity.
As Helen Cole, GreenME’s scientific co-coordinator, states:
“We are proud to have accomplished the ‘diagnosis’ phase of the project, which reveal the challenges and opportunities, both similar and unique to each country, for promoting and expanding green care across our consortium countries.”
With this valuable information in hand, GreenME is poised to adopt a proactive approach for year two.
“We begin the second year of GreenME eager to use the information we have gathered about the status of green care in each of our study areas to develop frameworks and guidelines that better integrate nature-based therapies to improve mental health equity,” says Margarita Triguero-Mas, GreenME’s scientific co-coordinator.
The upcoming General Assembly Meeting, hosted by the University of Kent in Canterbury, will set the stage for a strategic discussion of the next steps, guided by the lessons learned in the project’s first year. As Cole points out, “Entering year two, we are forever hoping to adopt a more proactive approach, starting with learning from the challenges and accomplishments from the first year of the project.”
Additionally, GreenME plans to provide technical skills training for its consortium members, fostering stronger connections across the disciplines and areas of expertise within the project.
“I am hopeful that in year two, we will provide technical skills training for most of the consortium members, strengthening connections across the different disciplines and areas of expertise within the consortium” adds Triguero-Mas.
Looking forward, GreenME, in synergy with its siter projects NatureLAB and RESONATE, continues to grow, with its participation in the NetworkNatureEU further expanding its influence and reach. The team invites everyone to stay updated by following GreenME on social media and subscribing to its newsletter as the project moves forward with renewed focus and energy into its second year.
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