The ‘hutting’ project driving a national culture shift in line with integration

"The more huts there are, the more people will see the benefits."

The 1000 Huts project is an innovative initiative that is powered by integrated ways of working. Set up by Reforesting Scotland, a third sector organisation who campaign for a sustainable forest culture, the 1000 Huts project advocates a culture of recreational hut use in order to provide communities with the opportunity to gain respite from their busy urban lives, reconnect with nature, and reap the many health and social benefits that come with it.

By harnessing community involvement, fostering authentic relationships, championing the role of the third sector, and putting people at the centre, project co-ordinator Alan Carter says the 1000 Huts project supports hutting by connecting hutting communities across Scotland, whilst raising awareness of the health benefits associated.

“There’s huge amounts of research into the health benefits of exposure to nature – that’s really not in question now”, Alan says. “What hutting does is it gives a deep and meaningful connection to a natural place, and the research shows that this deeper relationship is more beneficial for our health than something more superficial.”

Due to Scotland’s complex relationship with land ownership, the 1000 Huts project has had to overcome several barriers in order to ignite this cultural change. In championing themes of integration, such as collaborative working, the organisation has brought the hutting community together to showcase the benefits of the practice, whilst campaigning for legal change.

“When we started, there were two barriers to hutting – one was planning, and one was land”, says Alan. “The first thing we achieved was getting the law changed to make this a feasible thing in Scotland, so hutting now has its own planning category, making huts easier and cheaper to build.”

1000 Huts have hosted several seminars and workshops for planners and landowners and offer advice and support to prospective hutters, highlighting that people are at the centre. They also run a Facebook group, which allows hutters from across Scotland to collaborate and engage in hutting-related discussion on one integrated platform.

“For some people, the community aspect of hutting is crucial”, Alan says. “The relationships between hutters are something that have been nurtured through things like Hutters Rallies, and long-established hutting communities, such as Carbeth, certainly grew out of that communal aspect.”

The communal hutting site at Carbeth, East Dunbartonshire, was established over 100 years ago, and since the 1000 Huts project began in 2014, several new sites have been set up to emulate this, including Carnock in Fife. In line with this, 1000 Huts have enshrined integration at the heart of their work to ensure hutting sites allow the forging of healthy relationships, put people at the centre, and truly focus on the wellbeing of the community.

“Our ‘Hut of Wellbeing’ has just been built and is designed for respite stays for people in Fife who are either carers or suffering from ill-health”, Alan added. “To do that, we gained some grants and contributed some of our core funds, but we also launched a crowdfunder and many hutters contributed generously.”

As a result, hutting can provide individuals with the opportunity to engage with both nature and community simultaneously, making it highly beneficial for our health and wellbeing. By pushing this culture shift using integrated methods, the 1000 Huts project are demonstrating the value of the third sector in driving long-lasting change.

“It will take time for hutting to imbed into the culture, but I think a lot of people are now aware that hutting can be beneficial for our health”, Alan says. “There’s around 400 huts in Scotland at present, whereas in Finland, there are around 400,000, so there’s definitely room for growth, and the more huts there are, the more people will see the benefits.”

You can find out more about the ‘1000 Huts’ project here: https://www.thousandhuts.org

If you enjoyed this, discover our Connected Communities case study highlighting Eat Sleep Ride’s alternative method of harnessing nature connection whilst championing integration.