Our aim, at Blackdog Outdoors, is to promote outdoor recreation as a means of improving mental health and wellbeing. Many of our events are introductory events aimed at:
- People new to the activity
- People that used to spend time in the outdoors but, for whatever reason, have lost the confidence to do so
- People that are looking to meet like-minded people so that they can plan their own adventures
There are, however, other groups of people that we support through our work. We’ve listed our three ‘event streams’ below to explain more about the groups we cater for.
Introductory Events
These are open events that are available to anyone who find’s their mental health acting as a barrier to them getting outdoors. An example of this event type is the monthly walks that we run to support Trail Magazine’s Mountains for the Mind campaign. The events are free to attend, and registration is via an Eventbrite booking link displayed in our calendar.
Community Support
These are closed events that are delivered for the service users of specific groups and organisations. The cost of running these events is covered through targeted funding grants. Examples of groups that we support include:
- The Outdoor Partnership (Cumbria)
- Aspirations Care
- LGBT Foundation Manchester
- SWY NHS Trust (Kirklees & Calderdale)
- College of Paramedics
- Leicestershire Trust NHS (PIER)
- Space4Autism
If you run a community support group, and would benefit from our support, then please get in touch via our contact page.
Professional Services
These are events that are provided with the aim of upskilling individuals, raising awareness of the benefit of outdoor recreation on mental health issues, or to support corporate wellbeing initiatives. The events are delivered at market rates, with the cost covered by the customers. These services include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Giving presentations on the impact of our work
- Delivering outdoor events for employees of corporate organisations
- Delivering mountain skills training to the Mountain Training syllabus as an accredited provider
If you’re interested in learning new skills, or would like us to plan a corporate wellbeing event, then please get in touch via our contact page.