Speakers: Ian Milsted, Head of Community Engagement, York Archaeological Trust and Meg Barclay, Community Engagement Officer, York Archaeological Trust

A case study of Archaeology on Prescription with York Archaeological Trust. This award winning project is a social prescribing project which uses archaeology as a tool for wellbeing. It supports adults aged 18+ who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, disability, long-term chronic conditions and loneliness, and enables them to take part in archaeological and creative activities to improve wellbeing. This dynamic project has developed from its initial pilot Autumn 2021 and has subsequently expanded to include new community partners, access new sources of funding and respond to changes in social prescribing and wellbeing best practices. This case study will include looking at the successes of the project, what we have learnt along the way, how we approach dealing with unexpected challenges and opportunities, how the project sits within the wider work of the Trust and our future plans to take the project model to new sites and locations within Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire so to increase engagement and opportunities for local communities.