Tree planting marks NHS Sustainability Day at NNUH

• From the left: Paul Roberts, Serco grounds staff, Ben Williams, NHS Forest and Richard Drew, Chairman of the NNUH Environmental Arts Committee.

Staff from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have come together to celebrate NHS Sustainability Day with the planting of trees in the grounds of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. NNUH has joined NHS organisations across the country in projects and activities which celebrate good environmental practice in the health service.

This planting is part of a wider conservation approach programme that Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH Trust) has undertaken which also includes a woodland walk around the N&N hospital site.

Richard Parker, Chief Operating Officer at NNUH said: “At NNUH we are very aware of the vital importance of green spaces to people’s health. A healthy tree population at our hospital plays a vital role in promoting green spaces for our patients, visitors and staff to enjoy long into the future.”

Emma Jarvis, Environmental Arts Manager at NNUH, said: “Tree planting and the care of our tree stock is a vital part of our work to improve the environment. The trees that are being planted are native species, and vital supporters of the ecosystem as they sustain and support local wildlife and bee populations.”

The tree planting forms part of a national campaign led by NHS Forest as part of NHS Sustainability Day. Staff have planted eight trees to mark the Trust’s support for environmental sustainability.

The trees planted in Norwich are funded through a sponsorship arrangement between the NHS Forest and The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO).

Georgie Delaney, Managing Director at TGO, said “We are delighted to sponsor this initiative, and a tree is planted for every piece of gym equipment we install. As a company we are passionate in promoting sustainable health care and the positive effects that exercising outdoors has on our physical, emotional and mental well-being. Our gyms are designed and produced in the UK, are free to use, inclusive for wheelchair users and meet the very strictest of safety standards ensuring they are safe for all ages and abilities. The tree planting forms part of our strategy to being the greenest, safest & strongest provider of outdoor equipment in the world”

Ben Williams, NHS Forest and Green Space, said: “We are really excited to be working with the hospital and it has been a real pleasure to plant the new trees on the site. This project is part of a network of sites from Newcastle to Norwich to Northwest London, from Oxford to Yorkshire.”