Publish date: 14 December 2023
NHS Estates team take part in tree planting in Northumberland as part of celebrations for National Tree Week
Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management, the estates subsidiary of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has celebrated National Tree Week by planting over 300 trees at some of its Northumberland hospital sites.
National Tree Week, which ran from Saturday, November 25 to Sunday, December 3, is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration. Originally, the team at NHFM planned to plant the trees on Friday, December 1 however the team had to reschedule to Friday, December 8 due to strong snow showers.
The trees were donated by NHS Forest which is run by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) – an initiative that started in 2009 and has seen more than 100,000 trees planted on or near NHS sites.
Around 20 volunteers from the organisation including executive team members, braved the cold conditions to plant the trees at the sites of the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Hexham General Hospital and Haltwhistle Memorial Hospital.
Damon Kent, managing director of NHFM said: “We’re incredibly grateful to have received these trees from NHS Forest. We’re committed to improving the surrounding areas of our sites to create a cleaner and greener environment.
“This was a brilliant initiative to be involved in and it’s great to see how successful the day has been. We’re looking forward to organising more volunteering days with the team.”
This project fits in line with the new sustainability strategy implemented by the trust, Net Zero Northumbria. Clare Winter, head of sustainability said: “Greening and adapting is one of our key areas in our new Net Zero Northumbria action plan. There are many advantages to planting trees and hedgerows such as providing shade for habitat and reducing air pollution therefore helping us in our fight against climate change.”
The team planted a variety of trees including hazel, crab apple and hawthorn to create a natural barrier between Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital and the A189 in Cramlington. As well as contributing to the trust’s sustainability efforts, once grown, the trees and flowers will also help to improve patient and visitor experience at the sites, including by obstructing the view of the traffic on the A189, buffering the noise from the road, and transforming this space into a much more welcoming environment.
Media contact
Emily Lavin, marketing and communications officer
emily.lavin@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk or 07887985929