Wintering Well Project Brings ‘Borrowable Sunlight’ across Scotland to Help Residents Beat the Winter Blues

Professor Hayden Lorimer of the University of Edinburgh, Wintering Well box user Claire Charlwood, and Professor Hester Parr of the University of Glasgow are pictured in Kirkintilloch’s William Patrick library in October 2024

(IN BRIEF) The Wintering Well project, developed by researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, is expanding to the Orkney Islands this winter to help residents cope with low mood and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The initiative enables people to borrow a Wintering Well Box from their local library, containing a therapeutic SAD lamp, activity guide, and access to a CBT-based online course. Following successful pilots in East Dunbartonshire and new trials in Dublin, the programme’s Orkney rollout is supported by Voluntary Action Orkney and the Orkney Islands Council. Led by Professor Hester Parr, the project forms part of the UKRI-funded Living with SAD research initiative. Accompanied by the BBC Radio 4 series Winter Well, the scheme highlights how community resources and creative engagement can support wellbeing during the long, dark winter months.

(PRESS RELEASE) GLASGOW, 22-Oct-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — A creative initiative designed to help people manage low mood and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the darker months is heading to one of Scotland’s most remote regions this winter. The Wintering Well project, which allows library users to borrow sunlight therapy lamps and wellbeing resources from their local libraries, is being introduced to the Orkney Islands—where daylight hours can drop to fewer than six hours by midwinter.

Beginning after the clocks go back on 26 October, Orkney residents will be able to borrow a Wintering Well Box from local libraries or through the mobile library van “Booky McBookface.” Each box includes a therapeutic SAD lamp, a guidebook with advice on outdoor and indoor wellbeing activities, and access to a free online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) course designed to support mental health during the low-light months. Developed by researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in collaboration with individuals who experience SAD, the boxes are part of the UKRI-funded Living with SAD project, led by Professor Hester Parr at the University of Glasgow.

Following a highly successful pilot in East Dunbartonshire last year—which saw over 200 loans and 349 renewals, with overwhelmingly positive feedback—the programme is expanding north to Orkney and across the Irish Sea to Dublin, where library services will trial their own version of the scheme. In Orkney, the programme is supported by community link practitioners from Voluntary Action Orkney and Orkney Islands Council, ensuring residents across the mainland and outer islands can access the resources.

Professor Parr said the project aims to help people develop new routines and coping mechanisms during winter, a time when over a million people in the UK are affected by SAD. “Our Wintering Well Boxes encourage creative ways to manage low mood and foster social connection. We’re especially pleased to extend the scheme to Orkney, where limited daylight and remote living can intensify the effects of seasonal depression,” she said.

The initiative also coincides with a new BBC Radio 4 series, Winter Well, presented by Professor Hayden Lorimer of the University of Edinburgh, which explores how individuals across the UK embrace and adapt to winter through creative and mindful practices. Professor Lorimer noted that the series and the project share the same goal: to inspire people to “do the dark season differently.”

Local partners praised the rollout, with Orkney Library’s Team Manager Vikki Kerr highlighting the importance of libraries as community wellbeing hubs: “In Orkney, our long, dark winters can be particularly difficult for those living with depression or isolation. The Wintering Well scheme offers simple yet powerful support to help people navigate the season in a healthier way.”

The scheme’s continued expansion—spanning Scotland, Ireland, and beyond—underscores a growing recognition of the importance of accessible mental health support within community spaces. Through shared resources, creative interventions, and a touch of borrowed sunlight, Wintering Well is helping people across remote regions find new light in the darkest months.

Media contact:
media@gla.ac.uk

SOURCE: University of Glasgow