This conference will bring together clinicians, estate managers, conservation workers, artists and researchers to inspire the use of green space for the benefit of health, at healthcare centres across the country.
The event is a celebration of ten years of the NHS Forest and green space network - an alliance of 190 healthcare centres working to make the most of their outdoor spaces for patients, staff and the wider community.
Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, on the outskirts of London, is starting work on a two-year programme to redesign several green spaces in the hospital grounds. The Centre, run by East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, historically specialised in tuberculosis and retains its original sanatorium building, now occupied by offices. Its terraces and balconies, once used for fresh air treatment, overlook a large expanse of lawn, with a grove of mature trees nearby.
We’re offering GP practices in Oxfordshire the chance to create havens for bumblebees as part of the Bee Healthy project. This new pilot scheme, run by the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment in partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and Wild Oxfordshire, will provide funds and support to help two health centres plant bee-friendly borders in their grounds.
We are delighted to announce the return of our 2@2 trees campaign as part NHS Sustainability Day on the 21 March 2019. Watch our video here.
Greening movements such as Rewilding Britain advocate the reestablishment of natural processes to reverse ecological damage and provide nature with the opportunity to recover [1]. At the NHS Forest, we’ve been looking into how organisations and individuals can follow these principles while making use of an important tool in forestry management: tree guards.
Could greenery, gardens and wild areas at NHS sites help combat workplace stress and improve staff wellbeing? A new research project led by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare is exploring the value of green space and outdoor activities for health staff, with a focus on the work of three different health facilities. Each of the sites is a member of the NHS Forest, and has encouraged the active use of its green spaces to raise the quality of life for staff.
Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature (IWUN) is a groundbreaking project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council to explore the links between natural environments in urban settings and mental wellbeing. It is led by a team in the Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield, along with colleagues in the University of Derby and Herriot-Watt University, and a range of practice partners.
Do you think we need more trees near our hospitals, surgeries and health centres? Then join us in celebrating the trees of the healthcare sector! Take a photo of your favourite NHS tree and post it to our twitter @NHSForest ...remember to use the hashtag #SHCWeek18! or email us at info@nhsforest.org
The Talking Trees Bristol campaign has been launched with an aim to double tree canopy cover in the city by 2050.
Here are some ways you can get involved:
Urban tree planting champions Trees for Cities celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2018, and plan to mark this by planting more trees in more cities across the UK than ever before. The organisation is looking for sites to plant whips (young trees) to create urban woodland habitat and hedgerows, and would love to hear from NHS land owners who have large tracts of land (ideally greater than 0.5 hectares) available for planting.
