St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth, Newcastle, planted 100 trees sponsored by the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund in 2021. Service users, staff and volunteers have all been involved in the planting plans and events. In 2022, they added a further 42 trees to this total.
The trees will provide biodiversity habitats across the four sites, and create wildlife corridors to connect existing planted areas. They will also play a role in supporting the wellbeing of staff and service users: screening eyesores such as car parks, providing shade and a space to connect with nature, and contributing to the walking routes that exist on three of the four sites to promote exercise and relaxation.
Sarah Neil, Sustainability Officer, said: “At Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) we want to make the most of our green spaces for service users, carers, staff and local communities to enjoy, encouraging biodiversity and connection with nature. As we walk around our hospital sites we can see so much potential for enhancing what is already there and we hope that this tree planting project will be the first of many such initiatives.”
For more information, watch this video about the tree planting across the CNTW area: