The Five Ways to Well-being: now as giant puppets, fairy tales and a quiche

It's been over eighteen months since nef launched the Five Ways to Well-being, a collection of simple actions that have been proven to enhance quality of life. We developed them originally for the UK Government's Foresight project on Mental Capital and Well-being, but they've since found life much further afield.

The Five Ways were used by the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand for their awareness raising week last year. Liverpool's 2010 Year of Well-being has put the Five Ways right at the heart of what they're doing. A hospital in London used them as inspiration for a well-being garden. Local councils have held Five Ways Festivals, used them to improve well-being at work and for organisational development. So far, so ordinary.

We also heard that a museum in Manchester used the Five Ways to guide people around their fossil  collection. A Pride Festival in the North West reworked the Five Ways as Gay Ways to Well-being and put them on enormous banners. During their well-being week, the University of East Anglia put up banners of the Five Ways in their main entrance, and even developed a Five Ways to Well-being quiche.

Two of our favourite examples have come to our attention very recently. Yesterday the well-being team were sent a collection of fairy tale books, written and illustrated by school children in Stockport, with the help of professional children's book artists. So you get the three little pigs who decide to be active by taking up ballet, or the lonely troll who makes friends and connects with others. 10,000 copies of the books are being distributed freely to schools, libraries, community groups and SureStart centres.

Finally, we also discovered that a festival in Liverpool turned the Five Ways into giant puppets, which really has to be seen to be believed: