YESI team steps up for the Great York Walk 2026

Posted on Wednesday 27 May 2026

Lindsay Stringer, Rob Marchant and Kathryn Arnold took on the challenge to support vital mental health initiatives at the University of York and further afield. While the official route was a 20 mile challenge, which is around 32km, the team managed to get lost just once, resulting in them walking a grand total of 35km.

This connection to health and wellbeing mirrors ongoing research priorities within YESI. Our Environment, Climate and Health theme regularly explores how access to green spaces can boost mental wellbeing, alongside investigating the growing ways that climate anxiety impacts local and global communities.

In the UK, up to one in four adults and one in ten children experience a mental health problem each year. The funds raised from this community walk go directly to Mentally Fit York, promoting good mental health on local, national and international scales. The funds are allocated by an expert panel of mental health practitioners, advocates and researchers to support on the ground initiatives and groundbreaking research.

This includes:

• Providing 24/7 mental health support for students at the University of York
• Funding Mental Health Nursing Scholarships to boost the healthcare workforce
• Backing research projects that look into the barriers people face when trying to access support services

“I’m happy to say that after a week of changeable weather, the sun came out to join us on the day! It was such a good opportunity to chat with colleagues on the walk, see the sights of York, including some areas of the city I didn’t know existed,  while knowing we are doing our bit to help support mental health research at York. Over a week on, our feet are now finally a bit less sore. It was overall a great day though! A massive thank you goes out to everyone across the university community and beyond who donated and cheered the team on to the finish line.” Prof Lindsay Stringer

Next step

You can still support the fundraising total and find out more about the initiative here.