The Phoenix Rising project brings together a team with a collective 55yrs experience of delivering wellbeing & community activities. We are working together to bring together the best of art, nature & physical activity.
Green Close
Green Close, an artist-led arts organisation, is the lead organisation of the Phoenix Project. They have been successfully developing & delivering creative programmes benefitting the wellbeing of communities in North Lancashire & South Cumbria for more than 24 years.
Director Sue Flowers is a LENS Regional Champion for the North West & works closely with the Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance. In 2020 Green Close delivered the online Phoenix Project, a pilot visual art and mental wellbeing programme in response
to Covid19, funded by ACE (Emergency Recovery Fund) in partnership with LSCFT Recovery College. Researchers from Lancaster University evaluated the programme’s impact, finding that participants reported a 16% increase in wellbeing https://greenclose.org/phoenix-project-evaluation/
Mandala
Mandala Preston CIC has 7 years’ experience working within the community and with partners to improve wellbeing through physical activity & meditation.
They have close relationships with many organisations across Preston and receive referrals from and work with mental health counsellors, colleges, Deafway, Preston Domestic Violence Service, Lancashire Recovery College, Newman College & more.
In April-July 2020 Mandala delivered an online wellbeing programme funded by Lancashire Resilience Forum Covid Emergency Fund; it benefited 550 participants signposted through social prescribers, mental health workers & via self-referral. 66% of participants had never taken part in an organised wellbeing activity before; outcomes included improved mood & motivation &
reduced sense of isolation & anxiety.
Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) is the North West’s leading independent environmental organisation and a significant force for conservation & environment enhancement. Since 2016 LWT has delivered flagship green wellbeing programme ‘Myplace’(www.lancswt.org.uk/ourwork/projects/myplace) in partnership with LSCFT.
Myplace has strong connections to Lancashire Local Authorities, Public Health England’s Social Prescribing rollout & community partners. Myplace’s well-established NHS & Community referral pathways have supported 1500+ YP and adults with poor mental health to connect positively with nature. Responding flexibly to lockdowns and participant needs Myplace is now online via ecotherapy Zoom encouraging connections with nature, the outdoors & the 5 ways to wellbeing.
The Gathering Fields
Helen Flatman Leece, owner of The Gathering Fields wellbeing centre and Wildflower Hay Meadow Restoration specialises in health and nutrition through medicinal plant teachings. The Centre has run voluntary wellbeing activities and retreats for 5 years, the online “Bee and Blossom Apothecary” engages community with wildflower meadows via videos & tutorials. Helen works with the Forest of Bowland AONB covering ~300 sq miles of countryside in Lancashire and North Yorkshire.
Lancashire Recovery College
Lancashire Recovery College works alongside people with lived experience of mental & physical health challenges, co-producing courses and social experiences that challenge the stigma surrounding mental ill-health and disability. They promote life beyond & before services, working in partnership with a wide range of voluntary, charitable, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations, they are able to deliver community focused learning that promotes wellbeing, prevention and recovery.
Following the success of the Phoenix Programme in 2020 they are once again be working in partnership with Green Close on Phoenix Rising. Carefully developing this wider collaborative of partners will bring an extended programme of wellbeing, arts, natural and physical activity.
Recovery College will continue to deliver its free health & wellbeing courses alongside the creative Phoenix Rising programme. Whilst promoting and enrolling learners to the Phoenix Rising programme, they will support delivery partners and learners to access wider social advice and support around all aspects of wellbeing including finance, housing and employment.
Funding Partners
The Phoenix Rising project is made possible through Thriving Communities funding and funding and support of the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust Recovery College and Lancaster University.
