Access to green space and biodiversity provides countless benefits to wellbeing, offering tranquillity and an opportunity for reflection and restoration.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have created a peaceful herb garden on the roof of our Brunel building and an allotment on the hospital site.
Our beautiful herb garden sits on top of our main Brunel building and provides a peaceful, calm place for staff to relax during their breaks, away from the stress of their working environments. It is located on the terrace just outside the staff restaurant, so provides a perfect place for staff to unwind. Staff are also encouraged to help maintain the garden, growing herbs that are used in our patient and staff meals.
The Southmead Hospital allotment is an open green space where we can grow our fruit and vegetables and give staff some open-air space to learn and practice gardening.
The impact of having a calming, green area for people to relax is huge, and we are so grateful for our donors who have allowed us to contribute to this important natural space, which will one day be open to our patients too.
North Bristol NHS Trust was the first Trust in the UK to declare an ecological emergency, and our green spaces are part of a concerted effort across the trust to fight this.
As well as the important impact the green spaces have on wellbeing across the Trust, they are continuously helping to improve our biodiversity and working to provide better air quality across our site.
