We are Perrnette and Iona, 3rd year medical students who are currently researching Blue Health, where we are exploring the holistic benefits of connecting with ‘bodies of water’. This programme has also enabled us to challenge our notions about ‘ability’ as we encounter organisations which are set up to be accessible to everyone despite any mental or physical disabilities they may have.  We have been interested to see how blue health is integrated in medicine, with projects such as Open Minds Active, All Aboard Water Sports and Hydrotherapy can be socially prescribed and seem to have a massive impact on those who participate in these activities. We also had the opportunity to meet the youth lead of Ocean Generation Dr Gemma Connell.

 We visited Tom Walmsley’s Pond at his ECOLAB education centre. We started the visit by looking at different fossils and speaking more about biodiversity and barriers to this in the UK. Iona and I then had the opportunity to get onto a kayak in the pond and it was such an exhilarating experience. We paddled gently across the tranquil water, the sound of the paddle slapping against the water merging with the chirping of tree top birds and the soft breeze. We docked on the riverbank, fishing net in stow in anticipation to explore what was lurking beneath the water. We managed to catch a few tadpoles, freshwater shrimp and even a frog. The thrill of participating in such an activity was such an honour and definitely outside of the realms of what I consider to be my daily norms. The peacefulness of the pond and the satisfaction of such a successful haul brought a newfound appreciation for the quiet beauty of the natural world.

 We also visited All Aboard Water Sports where we got to see the amazing work they are doing in helping sailing and other water sports more accessible via boats which had many adaptations to allow anyone with many different physical and mental capabilities to experience sailing. They also explained the different programmes they run, from the School Games project, which involves children from many different schools coming together to do water sports, to getting elderly people with dementia out on the water, which allows them to reminisce on moments of their past when they had been on or around the water.

We were fortunate to join a session provided by Open Minds Active with Liz Dunn, which involved wild swimming alongside a group of participants who had been socially prescribed the programme. It was an amazing chance to experience cold water immersion and hear stories from the participants about how opportunities like these can help so many people suffering from diseases ranging from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia to depression.

Henleaze lake itself is a green and blue oasis hidden within Bristol and it truly allowed us to feel as if we were outside the city which added to the experience. It allowed us to see that although medications can help control symptoms, therapies like these can give people a more of their life back.

 On week two we visited Will Walton-Freeman – a dual trained medical professional. We travelled to Long Ashton and were taken into a forest, immediately I was met with a beautiful scene of sunlight shimmering through trees and the earthy smell of fallen leaves. We sat around an unlit campfire, speaking of our past experiences and what brought us into medicine and then Will spoke to us more about his work with trying to encourage people from under-privileged backgrounds and people from different ethnic backgrounds into water. We also had the opportunity to get into a nearby river. We were given the challenge to ‘cross the river in any way possible’. This was a task that required much precision, each step required a delicate balance of agility and precision, stones slightly wobbling under our feet making our way across reaching the opposite bank.

Happy with our small victories, we sat down at the bank to make drawings of some sculptures we made earlier in the day.

ECOLAB education centre  https://www.nature-connection.org.uk/ecolab-directions/

Open Minds Active,  https://www.openmindsactive.org/

All Aboard Water Sports  https://www.allaboardwatersports.co.uk