Find Your Active Navigator Maldon
Embedding Physical Activity Through Trusted Community Connections
This year, the Find Your Active Navigator for Maldon, Justine, has played a vital role in embedding herself within the local community, building trusted relationships and supporting residents who face barriers to being active.
Through consistent presence, meaningful conversations and strong partnerships, the Navigator role has helped reduce social isolation, improve wellbeing and connect residents to opportunities that support long‑term healthy, active lifestyles.
The Find Your Active Place Navigators support individuals who are new to physical activity or unsure where to begin. By working directly within local communities, they help ensure physical activity is accessible to everyone, particularly those who are inactive or socially isolated.
Throughout 2025, Justine has maintained a strong presence across the Maldon District, attending community events, engaging with residents and offering signposting where physical activity opportunities may not yet exist. Her work reflects the Active Essex Fit for the Future strategy, supporting prevention and place‑based approaches to health and wellbeing.
Between June and November 2025, Justine’s engagement has grown significantly, strengthening trust, increasing referrals and creating positive onward outcomes for residents.
Active Essex provides Justine with bi‑monthly support meetings, ensuring she can share local insight while staying aligned with strategic priorities. We encourage her continued attendance at key partner meetings, including the Maldon Livewell Subgroup and Maldon CVS Community Forums, supporting strong local connections.
Justine regularly feeds back learning and challenges from the community, which partners have found insightful and impactful. One key example was highlighting the lack of activities for residents aged over 50. In response, the Maldon Livewell Subgroup committed to mapping existing provision and identifying gaps in work that is ongoing and remains a priority.
Active Essex continues to support the Navigator role by:
- Keeping a strong focus on tackling inequalities
- Supporting place‑based delivery
- Strengthening partnerships across health, community and voluntary sectors
- Sharing impact and learning with referral partners
Justine now acts as a strong voice for Maldon, championing physical activity and ensuring residents are connected to the support they need.
Building Confidence and Health Through Community Activity
J, a vulnerable adult in her early 50s living with diabetes and learning difficulties, has grown significantly in confidence and wellbeing since joining the Burnham Walk for Wellbeing with her support worker. Through regular participation in the walks and other local activities such as Community in a Cup, Slimming World and Tai Chi, she has become more socially confident, more active and healthier overall. With consistent support, she has also developed important daily living skills, made healthier choices and gained greater independence. The combination of a structured routine, trusted support and welcoming community opportunities has helped J feel happier, more confident and more connected.
Key partners supporting engagement and onward referrals include:
- Maldon CVS – Social Supermarket
- Fullbridge Hub – social activities, lunch club, art therapy
- Moat Foundation – cooking courses
- OWLS Community Garden
- Community in a Cup (Burnham & Maldon)
- Men’s Shed (Cressing Temple)
- RSPB – Nature Prescription (Natter at the Nest)
- Walks for Wellbeing – Burnham, Heybridge, Fullbridge
- Chair‑based exercise classes – Burnham
- Places Leisure – networking and engagement
- Falls Prevention Events – North Fambridge
A key success has been the strong onward referrals that originated from physical activity sessions. These connections to art therapy, cooking courses, social supermarkets and community hubs demonstrate the importance of linking physical activity with wider wellbeing support.
Learning has shown that physical presence in the community is critical. Justine’s visibility builds trust, encourages engagement and supports residents to move between social and physical activity settings. This has led to stronger partnerships, particularly with Maldon CVS Social Supermarket and the Fullbridge Hub.
Challenges remain around:
- Encouraging partners to upload activities to the Activity Finder
- Reaching children, young people and ethnic minority communities
- Strengthening consistent referral pathways with GPs and social prescribers
Active Essex’s support has created ripple effects across Maldon, extending beyond individual referrals. The Navigator role has strengthened collaboration between health and voluntary sectors, increased community connectivity and helped residents build confidence to engage socially and physically.
These small but significant changes are contributing to a more connected, active and resilient community, demonstrating the value of place‑based prevention approaches.
Justine will continue feeding insights into partnership forums, with a key focus on:
- Mapping and addressing gaps in activities for residents aged 50+
- Strengthening referral pathways with health and social prescribing
- Expanding engagement with under‑represented groups
This work remains a priority for the Maldon Livewell Sub Group moving into 2026.
Diane – Building Confidence and Community Through Walks for Wellbeing
Diane, who lives with COPD and has previously undergone heart bypass surgery, first joined the Burnham Walk for Wellbeing after a friend’s recommendation. Since then, she has become a regular at both the Burnham and Fullbridge walks, and—through ongoing encouragement and local signposting—has taken part in art therapy sessions, healthy cooking workshops and Community in a Cup events. As her confidence has grown, she has become an active, supportive presence within the group, helping to create a welcoming environment for others. Taking part in low‑pressure, social physical activity has reduced her feelings of isolation, improved her wellbeing and helped her build meaningful connections. As Diane puts it, “It’s lovely to chat to everyone. Makes you want to be active. I go home and wish I could be back out again. It takes things off your mind.”
