Nearly 500 trees were planted on 27th March around the country for the NHS Sustainability Day of Action. Those planting trees for the NHS Forest's 2@2 campaign included Prime Minister David Cameron and Dame Sue Bailey, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford.
The Prime Minister said: "I'm not a doctor, but I'm absolutely convinced that the outdoors, our natural environment, engaging with nature, is a really important part of building our wellbeing and it's often the answer to some of the illnesses and problems that we have." Meanwhile Dame Sue Bailey referred to nature as a powerful tool. She said, "Spending time in natural areas, we now have an evidence base for, leads to stress reduction, alleviation of anxiety and a reduction of psychotic symptoms."
Activities occurred throughout England, Scotland and Wales, including:
- David Pencheon, Director of the Sustainable Development Unit, and his team planted a Giant Redwood.
- Lancashire Care held a series of roadshows to encourage NHS sustainability champions to sign up and showcase ideas from staff and patients across the Trust.
- Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust ran events at different sites including planting a wildflower meadow, 20 hazel trees and building a wood sculpture at Cirencester Hospital and planting a quince and herbs and fruit bushes at its maternity unit in Stroud.
The twitter sphere was busy as different trusts posted pictures of the trees they had planted as part of the NHS Forest's 2@2 campaign.
A big thank you to The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGOC) for sponsoring the trees for the NHS Forest.
For more details visit the NHS Forest and NHS Sustainability Day websites.
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