Reports

In 2023, GroundsWell and EastSide Greenways in Belfast commissioned a collaborative process to look at Connswater Community Greenway through the lens of climate resilience, adaptation, nature conservation and self sustainability. This document summarises the findings and recommendations of that process, researched and facilitated by Landscape Architects, The Paul Hogarth Company.  

This project in Birkenhead is turning a disused railway into vibrant green space. GroundsWell Consortium, Wirral Council and The Dock Branch Community Panel wanted to explore how the plans aligned with broader health and wellbeing goals for the area.

GroundsWell and EastSide Greenways in Belfast worked with  Studio idir and Baroudeur Consultancy to undertake a stakeholder and community engagement process that would look at the Connswater Community Greenway through the lens of accessibility and inclusion with an emphasis on engaging with older people and people with disabilities. This report includes recommendations that can be actioned in the short, medium and long term. 

In 2023, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and City of Edinburgh Council facilitated a series of in-person and online workshops with local communities, third sector, and public sector stakeholders to establish an evaluation framework for Linking Leith's Parks, and the wider Edinburgh Nature Network (ENN). GroundsWell researchers attended these meetings as stakeholders, and helped shape the evaluation framework from a health and wellbeing perspective. A report and the finalised evaluation framework was developed by the Edinburgh Nature Network team, and can be viewed using the link above.

Our partners on GroundsWell, Mae Murray Foundation is a charity delivering a range of innovative all-ability projects for different age groups, in addition to designing and implementing permanent solutions in everyday environments to break down unnecessary barriers to participation. One way in which they do this is through the creation of Inclusive Beaches and implementation of an Inclusive Beach Programme. In 2024, GroundsWell partnered with Mae Murray Foundation to evaluate their Inclusive Beach Programme. The report summarises the impact of the programme on physical health, mental health, and the social life of members and their families. 

A series of participatory workshops were held across two full days in January 2025 involving 30 stakeholders from multiple sectors across Belfast. The workshops were led by researchers from Queen’s University Belfast as part of a programme of research which aims to investigate how violence against women and girls (VAWG) can be prevented in outdoor public spaces in Belfast. The purpose of the workshops was to co-develop a systems map that represented a shared vision and identified pathways with the potential to prevent VAWG in outdoor public spaces in Belfast.

The report showcases the Growing Up Healthy project which engaged over 350 primary school students in exploring nature in the Belfast Hills over a 6-week programme. The programme involved connecting with nature, establishing healthy habits, and improving health and wellbeing with schools within the most deprived communities in Belfast. The report highlights the health, wellbeing, and social benefits of the programme on the young people, their friends, family, and community, and their schools.