Why Nature for Health Matters
Nature supports recovery. Patients with access to green space or even just a view of trees from their window have been shown to recover more quickly – supporting overall wellbeing during hospital stays, contributing to a more positive and restorative care environment. For staff, stepping outside for even a few minutes can provide an important reset in a high-pressure environment, helping to reduce burnout. Our Space to Breathe report, along with findings from the RHS Wellbeing Gardens programme, have shown that greater access to green space on healthcare sites leads to improved staff wellbeing and noticeable boosts in morale.
Nature directly supports NHS priorities across the board, from improving patient care and protecting staff wellbeing to addressing health inequalities and building a Net Zero, climate-resilient estate. Yet nearly half of people in England don’t have access to a good-quality green space, and it’s often those in the poorest health who are most affected by this gap.
Given that NHS sites are rooted in communities across the country, greening healthcare estates offers a powerful opportunity to close that gap. By enhancing natural spaces on site, we can create environments that promote health, equity and resilience – not just for patients and staff, but for the wider population too.
Nature also plays a crucial role in preparing our healthcare sites for the challenges of a changing climate. Green infrastructure helps cool buildings during heatwaves, reduce flood risk by absorbing storm water and improve air quality – all while supporting biodiversity, even in densely built environments. In short, nature isn’t an optional extra. It’s part of building a smarter, fairer and more resilient health system for the future.
The Nature for Health Resource Project
To accelerate this green shift in healthcare, we set out to understand what resources already exist and where the gaps are. Many guides and toolkits are out there – developed by environmental organisations, NHS trusts, academic researchers and community projects – but they’ve been scattered across different sites and written for different audiences. Busy NHS staff told us these resources were often hard to find and even harder to apply to a clinical setting. Through a staff survey, stakeholder interviews, and a review of existing materials, we heard from healthcare professionals in estates and facilities, sustainability and clinical roles. The enthusiasm for greening healthcare was clear, but so was the need for more practical, healthcare-specific support.
What We’ve Learnt
This project reinforced existing evidence that there is a strong appetite for nature-based initiatives in healthcare. But the systems and support to make them happen aren’t always in place.
Staff said they weren’t sure how to adapt nature-based projects to clinical environments and patient care, and they had concerns about things like infection control, patient safety and upkeep of green spaces on site. Many existing resources felt too generic – a one-size-fits-all approach that didn’t address the realities of a busy healthcare setting or the technical constraints of a hospital estate. Important details on maintenance, accessibility, or tailoring interventions to different patient groups were often missing. Clinicians, for example, wanted clearer evidence and case studies to give them confidence in integrating nature into patient care pathways, while estates teams asked for bite-sized, actionable guidance that wouldn’t burden their workload. We heard that time and competing priorities are major barriers, so any new or adapted resources need to save time or fit into existing duties.
Time is also a major barrier. NHS staff are stretched, and enthusiasm alone isn’t enough if projects rely on people going above and beyond their day jobs. That’s why any new tools need to be quick, relevant, and easy to use. From short videos to webinar clips and quick-start guides, we’ve championed formats that are engaging, time-sensitive and can slot into existing roles without adding to the pressure.
Leadership also matters. When green space development is championed by senior managers for example, through trust green plans and estates strategies, it signals that this work is a priority. That top-level support can unlock time, funding and collaboration across teams, allowing nature-based projects to take root and grow.
Our recommendations go further than just producing or adapting more resources. We want to see nature embedded into how healthcare operates, including within staff training and professional development. When healthcare professionals enter the workforce already understanding the link between nature and health, they’re more likely to champion it in their own work and recognise its value for nature recovery and human health.
Launching the Nature for Health Resource Hub
In response to these findings, we created the Nature for Health – A Resource Hub for Healthcare Sites – a curated collection of free resources designed for NHS settings. This online hub brings together the best expertise and guidance from across the sector, all in one convenient place. From how-to guides and technical toolkits to case studies, training webinars and short videos, the hub helps healthcare staff at any level find support to develop green space projects and integrate nature into their work.
Crucially, the hub is designed with healthcare settings in mind, focusing on how to develop green spaces on healthcare sites and improve access to nature for both patients and staff. It showcases what’s possible on a site – whether it’s establishing a therapeutic garden in a courtyard, mapping a walking route around the hospital or creating a pollinator-friendly roof terrace. All content is searchable and will be updated periodically. We hope this hub not only makes relevant resources easier to find, but also inspires and empowers teams to take that next step, however small towards creating a more nature friendly healthcare environment.
Want to see it in action? Explore the hub now.
Looking Ahead
Greening healthcare sites is one of the most immediate, visible and impactful ways to connect health and sustainability. It improves outcomes for patients, supports staff, benefits communities and strengthens the climate resilience of the NHS estate.
Through this project, we’ve taken an important step towards better equipping, informing and inspiring the sector, breaking down silos and helping to build a culture where nature and healthcare are no longer viewed as separate.
The new resource hub and learnings from the project are just the beginning. We’re excited to see how healthcare professionals use it in practice, and how the health and environmental sectors can come together around this shared challenge and shared opportunity. Together, we can start planting the seeds – sometimes literally! – for a more nature-friendly NHS that supports healthier communities and the climate.
Banner image: Staff and other volunteers scatter native wildflower seeds at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. Credit: Vicki Brown / CSH September 2021 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).