News

If gardening is good for the body, mind and planet how can we do more of it and get others to value it too? At the end of National Gardening Week Katie Tiplady-Startin celebrates the wellbeing rewards of time spent in the garden.   In a 24 hour society, with responsibilities... read more →

As most of the UK goes to the polls to elect their local politicians many are asking whether it matters?  In our deeply centralised system what difference does it make who sits in our local council chambers? As we collectively face potentially catastrophic climate change, an almost unprecedented cost of... read more →

Here at Centre for Thriving Places, we were delighted to see that the theme of the recent World Health Day was Our Planet, Our Health. It resonated because the annual World Health Organisation (WHO)’s 2022 awareness day invited us to imagine a world ‘where economies are focused on health and... read more →

Every March we are encouraged to act for two important days of action: International Day of Forests (IDOF) and the annual Earth Hour which this year falls on 26th March. It can be tempting to dismiss initiatives like this as paying lip service to the vast challenges we face. However,... read more →

Rishi Sunak will present his Spring budget statement tomorrow. It would be great to think recent hardships caused by pandemic, inflation, fiscal drag, high energy prices and national insurance increases might give him pause to think more deeply about the kind of economy this country needs. If he did, he... read more →

There has been much noise around the much touted launch of the Government’s white paper on Levelling Up recently. It feels like something most right-thinking people should be welcoming, with the idea of a level playing field so deeply rooted in our notion of fairness.  We live in a deeply... read more →

Guest blog by Nancy Hey, What Works Centre for Wellbeing The places where we live, work and spend our time have an impact on our wellbeing. We know, for example, that there are spillover effects of crime, social fragmentation, and deprivation on our individual wellbeing regardless of whether these things affect us directly.... read more →

Centre for Thriving Places delivers major new report and framework for Defra. Wellbeing has been rising up the agenda across public, private and voluntary sectors in recent years. Understanding the impact of policy and initiatives on the wellbeing of individuals, communities and even future generations is becoming an increasingly important... read more →

Many of us grew up reading cautionary tales – dark fairy stories designed to teach children fundamental lessons about right and wrong. One of the classics was The Emperor’s New Clothes. At the heart of the story sat an egotistical emperor who had an insatiable desire for new things, and an... read more →