Woodlands, work and wellbeing: harder-to-reach groups in rural Wales the health and job-readiness impacts of Tir Coed’s intervention model in harder-to-reach groups in rural Wales Eleri Phillips Teresa Walters Aberystwyth University Tir Coed mep13@aber.ac.uk eo@tircoed.org.uk

‘IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH WOODLANDS’ ‘GWELLA BYWYD DRWY COETIROEDD’ Tir Coed is a charity and social enterprise that engages people with woodlands through volunteering, training and bespoke activities that increase well-being, develop skills and improve woodlands for the benefit of everyone.

Well-being in the Woods Skills and Progression in the Woods Bespoke Coordination for group needs Mentoring and Support to help every step of the way Skills and Progression in the Woods

Since 2010, an average 64% of participants across the projects have been in employment, education, further training, or volunteering by the end of their Tir Coed training.

WICKED ‘07-’10 Branching Out ’10-’13 WISEWOODS ‘12-’16 VINE ‘13-’16 Since becoming a registered charity in 2007, Tir Coed has consistently developed and delivered training and wellbeing activities to engage participants with woodlands. WICKED ‘07-’10 600 young people (incl. NEETs and young carers) engaged with woodland-based training and activities Branching Out ’10-’13 150 NEETs engaged with training 70 gained accreditation WISEWOODS ‘12-’16 73 trainees 6 jobs created 300+ products sold VINE ‘13-’16 150 people trained 94 accredited 1835 involved in bespoke activity sessions LEAF Pilot ’17 51 people trained 36 accredited 509 took part in bespoke activity sessions

Between 2010 and 2017, more than 4,712 people have engaged with their local woodlands via Tir Coed training courses, bespoke activities, and community open days

Monitoring and evaluation methods Since 2010, Tir Coed projects have assessed outcomes for participants using questionnaires based on: Open-ended questions for qualitative responses 5-point Likert scales assessing: Wellbeing Aspirations Training The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (SWEMWBS)

LEAF Pilot: Wellbeing and employment outcomes from woodland-based training Job-readiness 87% felt more able to take on responsibility 95 % enjoyed their activities 91% made new friends 72% gained Agored Cymru qualifications 60% felt good about themselves more often 64% were engaged in employment, education, further training, or other volunteering

The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Score A tool used by many intervention projects to assess wellbeing outcomes Participants respond to seven statements about their thoughts and feelings 5-point Likert scale ranging from ‘none of the time’ to ‘all of the time’ Possible scores range from 7 to 35 Wellbeing scores were calculated for 14 participants who had completed questionnaires at the start and end of a 12-week training course

Post-training, the wellbeing indicators showing the most improvement were ‘feeling useful’ and ‘thinking clearly’, and ‘feeling close to others’.

The average wellbeing score increased by 1.8 points (from 22.5 to 24.3)

The numbers are not the whole story… I was feeling unhappy in my employment, dissatisfied and stuck in a rut. This project gave me energy, optimism, helped improve my well-being and opened my eyes to new types of employment in the future. (F, 25-34, in part-time employment) This course helped me feel 'wanted' again. Working with like-minded people was a tonic for my wellbeing. (M, 55-64, Unable to work due to disability) Got me up in the morning when I thought I couldn't. Good for job confidence, made me more reliable. (M, 18-24, Unemployed: In receipt of JSA)

Challenges and future directions for measuring outcomes Some client groups struggle with literacy-based assessment Assessing wellbeing is difficult: Underestimate – participants unwilling to disclose Overestimate – participants try to give the ‘right’ answer Samples have been relatively small Mentors support participants to complete questionnaires PhD project will include interviews and focus groups Improved monitoring procedures and staff time are in place to capture the biggest possible sample

Where we’re working 2018-2023 Tir Coed has secured funding for a variety of training, activity, residential and research projects across rural Wales until 2023. If you would like further information about upcoming projects, please visit www.tircoed.org.uk