Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust has won a Green Community Award for their innovative work at their Puddings Wood NHS Forest site which is part of Broomfield Hospital. The trust has also been awarded a Heritage Lottery grant to enable better access and interpretation and training for volunteers to allow the site to be self-sustaining.
Broomfield Hospital has two woodlands within its grounds: Puddings Wood and Long Shapely Belt. The hospital has planted over 400 NHS Forest trees and has worked with a range of volunteers – from school children to council workers to teenagers – to plant the trees, maintain the site and create sculptures.