New charity uses outdoors to improve mental health

A new charity hopes to use activities ranging from cold-water swimming and archery to hill walking and breathwork to improve men's mental health and reduce isolation.

Connect Outdoors is being officially launched alongside an International Men's Day event at the Venture Centre in Maughold, where organisers expect about 80 people to take part in a range of outdoor activities.

The charity said it wanted to gather research on what kind of support men are most likely to engage with, arguing that services have often been designed without asking men first.

Chief executive Kate Bergquist said it had grown out of years of work in social care, public services and outdoor wellbeing programmes.

She said: "We have this abundance of landscape on the island that is never used enough for health.

"This should be embedded into everyone's health and wellbeing routine every week."

Activities on offer include high ropes, bushcraft, mindfulness, breathwork, yoga, archery, ice baths and guided walks, alongside informal spaces designed to encourage men to connect with one another.

The charity is built around what is known as "green and blue health", which encourages people to use natural environments such as forests, beaches and the sea to improve their health.

Bergquist said a key focus would be addressing men's mental health through activities that encourage conversation without making mental health the main selling point.

As part of Sunday's event, attendees will be invited to complete surveys that organisers hope will help identify which activities and approaches are most effective at engaging men.

Among those supporting the event is Gary Thomas, who runs Walking for Wellness and takes people on Manx hill walks where they can talk through any challenges.

The former serviceman and mountain leader said many people found it easier to open up outdoors than in a traditional counselling setting.

"It gives them that opportunity to feel secure and have that ability to open up in an environment that's not oppressive," he said.

"Nature's not clinical, nature's natural."

Thomas said group activities could also help tackle loneliness by creating new social connections.

"We've had people turn up and find their own circle of friends and common interests," he said.

"Then they go off afterwards and explore things together, which is brilliant."

Also involved in the event is Douglas barber Joshua Moore, who completed suicide prevention training through the Lions Barber Collective.

Moore runs Renegade: Cuts and Clobber, and said barber shops often became places where men felt comfortable discussing difficult issues.

"The barber chair is a very special place," he said.

"You can leave feeling a little bit better about yourself, whether that's having a nice haircut, but also just having the opportunity for somebody to listen to you."

Moore said he had seen first-hand the impact mental health struggles could have on families and communities, and wanted to support initiatives aimed at encouraging conversation and early intervention.

The International Men's Day event aimed to introduce men to new activities and point participants to support available to improve both their physical and mental wellbeing.

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.