At University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, Nature Recovery Ranger Nick White is helping to transform hospital grounds into thriving green spaces that benefit both people and wildlife. Working across three major hospital sites – Liverpool Royal, Broadgreen and Aintree Hospital – he has been instrumental in developing ambitious tree planting initiatives that bring together staff, patients and the local community. Nick is employed by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and embedded within Liverpool University Hospitals Group NHS Trust Sustainability team with funding from DSM Demolition as part of their corporate social responsibility.
“We’ve planted about over 500 trees at Aintree Hospital alone,” Nick explains, “with plans for a further 1000 trees across the hospital estate.” These aren’t just numbers, each planting initiative involves careful collaboration with hospital staff, volunteers, local organisations and patients to ensure maximum benefit.
One of the programme’s greatest successes has been at Aintree Hospital, where Nick works closely with the Friends of Bluebell Woods, a community group which cares for a14-hectare mixed woodland, jointly owned by the trust and Liverpool City Council. Over the most recent planting season, the group planted over 200 trees and undertook various woodland management tasks, creating new habitats and enhancing existing ones. The project demonstrates how NHS green spaces can serve multiple purposes – providing peaceful areas for recovery and rehabilitation while supporting local biodiversity.
Community engagement is at the heart of the programme’s success. Nick works with various groups from Everton Football Club’s community programme. This includes “Girls on Side”, which supports women experiencing mental health challenges and social isolation, and the “Safe Hands” project for young people who have been excluded from school. Both groups have contributed to tree planting efforts. This approach ensures that the benefits extend beyond the hospital grounds, creating valuable connections between healthcare facilities and their local communities.
Hospital staff have embraced the initiative too, from Occupational Health to the Finance team, employees have rolled up their sleeves to help plant trees. Patients and support staff from older people’s wards have also been involved, albeit in different ways. While they may not be able to plant trees directly, they have sown acorns in pots, which will be planted outside once they have grown.
Trees in a healthcare setting help combat extreme heat in summer by providing shade, help sequester carbon and provide a home for wildlife, but perhaps most importantly, they’re bringing people together and change how hospital grounds are perceived and used.
The Nature Recovery Ranger programme’s impact goes beyond tree planting. Nick and colleagues have distributed around 6,000 packets of wildflower seeds to staff, patients and hospital visitors, helping to spread the message of biodiversity and nature recovery beyond hospital boundaries. Similar initiatives with sunflower growing competitions have helped engage staff and visitors alike, making everyone feel part of the greening process.
However, the path hasn’t always been smooth. “I would have liked to have planted many more trees,” Nick admits. Challenges include getting approval for planting locations and concerns about underground services and future development plans. Yet these obstacles have led to creative solutions, such as focusing efforts on areas where hospitals adjoin existing green spaces, maximising the biodiversity impact.
Looking to the future, Nick emphasises the importance of securing long-term care for newly planted trees: “There needs to be a clear commitment to aftercare as this will ensure better survival rates and encourage more buy-in from stakeholders.”
This initiative demonstrates how NHS green spaces can be transformed into valuable assets that serve both health and community needs. Embedding the ranger role within sustainability teams and ensuring strong connections with estates departments, the programme has shown how hospitals can better manage their green spaces for the benefit of all.
The Nature Recovery Ranger programme shows that when healthcare organisations invest in their green spaces and provide dedicated staff to manage them, the benefits extend far beyond the hospital boundaries. Through careful planning, community engagement, and a commitment to long-term care, NHS grounds can become thriving ecosystems that support both human health and local biodiversity.