This paper presents a case study of Green Social Prescribing (GSP) in Walsall, a medium-sized urban area located in the West Midlands, UK. GSP is a means of enabling health professionals to refer people to a range of local non-clinical nature-based activities, e.g., community gardening and conservation volunteering. As a new practice to address multiple challenges in health and sustainability, GSP has been promoted by the UK government and the NHS in the past few years. There is as yet limited evidence and knowledge about how this approach is implemented at a local level. This paper addresses this gap of knowledge, by exploring how GSP is implemented in Walsall as a case study. Based on extensive engagement and research activities with the local partners to collect data, this paper reveals the local contexts of GSP, the referral pathways, and people’s lived experience, discussing the challenges, barriers, and opportunities in delivering GSP at the local level. This study suggests that a more collaborative and genuine place-based approach is essential, and alongside GSP, investment into infrastructure is needed to move the health paradigm further from ‘prevention’ to ‘promotion’ so that more people can benefit from what nature can offer.

Achieving climate neutrality and the provision of a route to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero or below requires a significant shift from a focus on top-down technological solutions to a more holistic, people-centred approach. The research presented here explores the role of ecological citizenship (EC) in this shift, and specifically how a socially innovative, co-designed approach to facilitating EC and the systemic changes needed for carbon neutrality could or should take place. The paper presents EC as an evolving practice that emphasises the responsibility of individuals and communities towards ecological sustainability and social equity. The study examines how various stakeholders, such as industry practitioners, third-sector organisations, and community members, communicate, understand, and implement EC practices, projects, and solutions, using a mixed-methods approach that includes roundtable talks and workshops. As such, the study emphasises the value of user-centred, co-designed proposals that enable individuals to actively participate in positive climate action. It also looks at the opportunities and challenges of incorporating EC into wider societal and legislative norms. At the municipal, regional, and national levels, we feel the results offer useful insights into how design processes, environmental programs, and participatory governance approaches may promote more sustainable, inclusive transitions and support achieving carbon neutrality.