A Collaborative Targeted Outreach Programme (CTOP): improving sccess to greenspaces for Muslim communities in Luton

Older adults (65+ years), women, and ethnic minority communities have been less likely to access greenspaces, contributing to inequalities in physical activity, wellbeing, and nature connection. In response, this project presented the Collaborative Targeted Outreach Programme (CTOP), a community-centred, co-produced intervention designed to improve equitable access to greenspace and the countryside for diverse Muslim communities in Luton.
CTOP integrated the Talk, Listen, Change (TLC) ethnographic approach with World Café collaboration workshops and Appreciative Inquiry (Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny). Five Collaboration Café workshops engaged women, older men, and community stakeholders in culturally responsive, gender-sensitive discussion spaces. Using visual prompts, collage building, and structured dialogue, participants co-designed their “ideal” greenspace experience, exploring where to go, when to go, who to go with, how to get there, and what to do on arrival. Data were analysed using framework analysis to inform intervention development.
The subsequent participatory action research phase operationalised the “Destiny” stage, translating community insight into supported greenspace visits. Guided visits were co-delivered with community organisations and incorporated reflective mapping, audio-visual capture of lived experience, and pre- and post-confidence and wellbeing measures. A steering group and collective reflection process supported iterative refinement and local capacity building.
Preliminary findings suggested that partnership-based, co-created approaches helped to reduce practical, cultural, and perceptual barriers to countryside access. CTOP demonstrated the potential of inclusive, strengths-based nature interventions to support more equitable participation in greenspace and enhance confidence, physical activity, and wellbeing.