Role model: Tom Miller

Tom Miller loves his commute to the Buxton Medical Practice in Derbyshire. “I travel 11 miles from my home to the surgery on mainly small country roads, past a 1200 foot climb, fields, drystone walls, sheep, and the odd cow. It’s a stunning drive, and the gold light shining on the green is gorgeous,” he says.

The GP partner’s appreciation of nature, with all its beauty and its health benefits, inspired him to help establish the RSPB Nature Prescriptions scheme for patients in the Derbyshire Dales.

The scheme is led by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and the Peak District National Park Authority, working with the social prescribing team at High Peak Community and Voluntary Support. It involves giving patients access to free, self-led activities that aim to create enduring connections with nature. The project was piloted in Scotland, and in January this …