greenspace scotland, NatureScot and Public Health Scotland have today published A Framework for Advancing Green Health in Scotland — a joint commitment to ensure that Scotland's natural environment plays a full and coordinated role in improving the health and wellbeing of its people.

The framework sets out a shared vision, six pillars and 15 priority actions, and is the result of a collaborative process involving stakeholders from across health, environment and other sectors throughout 2025.

Scotland's evidence base for green health is compelling. Research shows that 87% of people agreed their most recent visit to the outdoors contributed to an improvement in their mental health, and 27% of the Scottish population met NHS physical activity guidelines through outdoor activities — with annual cost savings to the NHS in Scotland estimated at £870 million. Yet the potential of green health has not yet been fully realised. Until now, activity across sectors has lacked the shared strategic direction needed to deliver change at scale.

This framework marks the start of a journey to address that. All three organisations are committed to working with Scottish Government, local authorities, health boards, and the third and community sectors to deliver the system change needed to achieve the framework's vision: "Everyone in Scotland connects with and benefits from nature every day."

Welcoming this publication are:

Lorraine Tulloch, Chief Executive, Greenspace Scotland

"Improving population health in Scotland requires us to think differently about where health happens — and urban nature is a powerful resource. This framework gives us the shared language, the shared priorities, and the shared commitment to make greenspace a cornerstone of Scotland's health system.

 We are proud to be publishing this work alongside our partners, and we are determined to see it deliver real and lasting change for people and nature across Scotland.”

Peter Rawcliffe, Head of People and Places Activity, NatureScot

"The evidence is clear that connecting with nature improves health and wellbeing — for individuals, for communities, and for Scotland as a whole. We want to build on the ground breaking work of Green Health Partnerships and others across Scotland and turn that evidence and learning into coordinated action both locally and nationally. This framework provides the foundation for this. It signals a genuine step change in how we approach green health in Scotland, and NatureScot is fully committed to playing its part in delivering it."

Dionne Mackison, Head of Place, Environment and Health Harms, Public Health Scotland

"Scotland's greenspaces are some of our greatest assets for public health — but too many people are still unable to access quality green space close to where they live. There is much we can do to unlock the potential health benefits for everyone if we work together. This framework sets out the shared ambition and the practical system-wide actions needed.”

The framework is available to download