Lucy is the Nature Recovery Ranger at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. She is the Senior Ranger for the Healthy by Nature project, which is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
My background is in local charities from the voluntary and ‘green’ sector, including TCV and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. For the last 12 years I have worked for a unique inner-city heritage garden and allotment site, where I was ultimately Service Manager for Horticulture, Nature and Volunteering activities. I have also volunteered with local committees around people and nature, particularly representing urban areas.
I was drawn to this role, as health and wellbeing has become a constant narrative through all my activities in gardening and nature. I think this project is such a direct and valuable way of providing opportunities where and when people need it. I am also really interested in making the most of land in urban situations for nature. The NHS is a huge landowner, so making some of that space a bit wilder is great!
I am a conservationist and a gardener and enjoy bringing these skills together. I have both an understanding of plants and also utilising systems like coppicing to grow materials to use. I have a good general knowledge of wildlife identification. When it comes to animals, I have a real soft spot for bumblebees! Plants are my first love though and I grow cutting and edible flowers alongside my veg – something I started doing for my children to play with and has now developed into quite a hobby! I also enjoy willow weaving – both making baskets and also crafts and garden supports.
The NHS trust I work with supports mental health across Nottinghamshire, and it is great being able to look at opportunities to develop the sites to improve their green spaces for use by patients, family and community. So far, my ranger work has been a flurry of meeting people and seeing sites. It has been a joy meeting so many creative and enthusiastic people. I really enjoy seeing green spaces in different but meaningful places. I’m really looking forward to seeing the specifics of each space and working out which local wildlife already uses, or could use, the area. Hopefully, this will lead to finding out what opportunities there are to engage people with their own local wildlife.
There are three main projects for me to get stuck into developing and constructing communal allotment gardens and wildlife spaces. I hope to create a programme of activities alongside the construction, so there is a chance to be involved throughout. There has also been some consultation with patients, staff and families and there are plans for growing spaces, nature-based features and sensory gardens. I intend to make these the best we possibly can for long term use. I also hope to bring in some creativity to the spaces with features that evoke curiosity and imagination, made from natural materials where possible to broaden the opportunities to engage with the outdoor spaces and nature.
Each space I work in around the trust has so much potential. A spot I’m particularly taken with is a little woodland at the back of Hopewood CAMHS unit. At the moment it is full of bramble and rubbish, but the plan is to turn it into a really special wildlife space.
It has been nice joining this project at the beginning of summer as all the plants and wildlife are in full swing. There are lots of opportunities to talk with patients, staff and visitors about what is growing and what wildlife we see. I do quite enjoy a bit of winter woodland management though, and I think we will make a mark on the site around then with some of the bigger tasks.
There are going to be a lot of logistical challenges, particularly in terms of building infrastructure. We also have some broader access challenges, with one of the sites up a steep set of stairs, and another surrounded by metal fencing. If anyone has any experience or insight around similar issues, I would love to hear from you.
To get in touch with Lucy, please email info@nhsforest.org
Banner image: Lucy clearing brambles at Hopewood Children and Adolescent Mental Health Unit. Photo: Lucy Kennedy/CSH, 2025