A Nature-Based Vocational Training Programme for Migrants and Swedes: Impacts on the Five Ways to Wellbeing

Nature-based interventions are increasingly used to support human wellbeing, and more recently to integrate migrants into host countries. In this research, we focused on a nature-based vocational training programme led by a partnership of three Swedish public organisations. In the programme, long-term unemployed Swedes worked with migrants in various nature conservation and nature management tasks as part of an employment programme. We undertook interviews with nineteen participants and carried out observations ‘in situ’ to explore the impact of the programme on participants’ wellbeing. Using the ‘five ways to wellbeing’ as a conceptual framework, we found that the programme connected participants to nature, helped them take notice of the forests and nature they worked in, and connected participants across cultures. The participants learned new conservation skills and migrants had a chance to improve their Swedish language skills. The activities within the programme were physical and the majority found this was important for their overall wellbeing. Migrants were younger and keener to learn new employable skills than Swedes who were closer to pension age. The groups were more similar when it came to identifying the impact of the programme on their wellbeing. Nature-based vocational training programmes not only allow participants to gain skills for employment but can have a significant impact on wellbeing.