Green care are facilitated and structured group activities with nature that are focused on improving the participants’ wellbeing. Numerous studies, demonstrate the short-term benefits of participating at a green care programme on improving a person’s wellbeing, and of these, a few studies have followed up participants post-attendance, typically up to 12 months later. These studies found the benefits remained, but do not identify the mechanisms for the sustaining of these changes. They suggest further research is required into what is sustaining these changes and if these changes are consistent across the range of green care programmes. As green care programmes are facilitated encounters I use Carl Rogers (2007) concept of the core conditions for therapeutic encounters (Conradson, 2003) to conceptualise how green care facilitates beneficial change in participants.

Using a qualitative approach I remotely interviewed facilitators and past and long-term participants from a range of green care programmes. From my preliminary analysis I purpose how facilitators’ authenticity, warmth, caring and empathic attitude enable respectful, understanding, flexible and accepting spaces where participants’ way of being are met non-judgementally and with activities attuned to their needs. These relational spaces of care promote social interaction, personal growth and the development of skills, which support participants’ becoming.