What do you get if you mix a 150th birthday with a county wide walking festival and an organisation involved in Active Travel and nature-based social prescribing projects?
The NCVS Birthday Bimble, of course! Kate, NCVS ATSP Community Development Coordinator, gives a summary of our Birthday Bimble.
On Wednesday 7 May 2025, a week into National Walking Month, 28 of us met at NCVS headquarters at the Dryden Enterprise Centre and set off up the hill and into the Arboretum. The weather was exactly what we had ordered (how often does that happen?) and we were treated to glorious sunshine as we wandered around Nottingham’s oldest park. The walk brought together people from across the VCSE sector and was the perfect opportunity to meet, chat and make new connections in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Conversation flowed freely as we walked along the tree lined paths, taking in the beauty of the nature around us and getting a good dose of ‘Vitamin G’ – something we’ve all come to appreciate from NCVS’s involvement in the GreenSpace green social prescribing project! Some people commented that they had never been into the Arboretum before and it was lovely to be able to introduce them to such an important part of our city’s heritage.
We finished our bimble back where we started and continued conversations over a cup of tea and a biscuit. There was a real buzz around the room, with people sharing ideas, swapping details and talking about how much they’d enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the office and meet new people. Walking meetings are proven to help promote feelings of wellbeing, stimulate creativity and problem-solving (The Cognitive, Social, and Health Benefits of Walking Meetings: A Synthesis of Research) and you could clearly see everyone was enjoying the physical and mental benefits of the walk.
Everyone who responded to our feedback form said they would join us for another walk after enjoying the 'friendly atmosphere' and the 'informal opportunity to network in nature'. There were suggestions that we could make it a regular event and maybe even go for a longer walk with a picnic at some point. We’ll definitely take those on board when planning future events, watch this space!
Thank you to everyone who came along, it was an absolute joy to take such a lovely group for a walk and I’m looking forward to doing it all again soon!
Watch a short video of our Bimble highlights, or keep scrolling for what you have said about our journey into the wild!
What was good about the Birthday Bimble?
'The chance to talk to a range of people - easier to circulate than sitting at tables. Nice to get out of the house or office to enjoy the fresh air.' Miriam
'I thought the route was great, it was a really relaxed atmosphere, lots of conversations with all involved, it was fab to get out into the Arboretum and enjoy the nature alongside networking, the weather was great which of course helped, the NCVS staff were all so courteous and friendly too.' Annie
'A nice opportunity to speak to and meet new people! Walking in the park was very nice being out in a green space and fostered talks around Green Space and Green Social Prescribing which was nice. The surroundings and outdoorness also meant a common thing to talk about with someone if you didn't have anything else to talk about.' Kai
'Lovely to meet people working in a similar area to me and hearing about what they are doing.' Ellen
'Opportunity to speak to lots of different people. It was a lovely sunny day so the walk itself was enjoyable too. I thought the idea of having a coffee afterwards was a good idea. All-in-all a well planned and run event.' Ellis
