Within the role as an Anchor Institution, the Trust has committed to improving biodiversity and utilising green space on our site for staff, patients and the local community. This recognises the important role the natural environment can play in prevention, therapy and recovery.
Over recent years there have been lots of projects, to improve biodiversity on-site, including:
- Tree planting across the three main sites, with over 2,000 saplings planted since 2020. Some of these have formed new hedgerows, which you can hear about in the video below. In Autumn 2022 the Trust was gifted a 'Tree of Trees' tree from the Queens platinum jubilee to recognise our contribution to tree planting, as part of the Queen's Green Canopy. We were one of just three trusts in England to be recognised.
- 'No-mow' areas at Broadgreen and Aintree during May, and some left uncut through-out the summer. We've had lots of different plants come up in the no-mow areas, including a pyramidal orchid which became the first record of this flower in Liverpool!
- Creation of the Highfield Community Garden at Broadgreen
- Planting of over 15,000 spring bulbs, including daffodils, crocus, bluebells and wild garlic.
Work over the last couples of years has been overseen by a Nature Recovery Ranger working within the Sustainability Team. For more information, read the case study on this role.
For more information on the national NHS green space work, take a look at the NHS Forest website
The Bluebell Woods are located along the western and southern edges of Aintree Hospital Site. It’s a vital part of Liverpool's green spaces network and links to Fazakerley Ecology Park and nearby wetland and meadow habitats.
The site is approximately 14 hectares and is jointly owned by LUFHT, Liverpool City Council and the Home Office.
There are multiple entrances to the woodlands from the hospital site, with the main entrances next to the Elective Care Centre building and near the Woodlands Hospice. There lots of different footpaths through the woods, making it a great place to go for a walk on your break or before/after work.
One of the best times of year to have a walk round the woods is in the spring, when the woodlands are filled with a carpet of bluebells.
Interested in volunteering?
The Friends of Bluebell Woods volunteer every Wednesday in the woods, undertaking general woodland maintenance, litter picking and planting trees. To find out more, get in touch with the team via sustainability
Providing improved biodiversity and supporting health and wellbeing across the Trust
Since 2021, we have had a Nature Recovery Ranger working as part of our Sustainability Team here at LUHFT.
This was part of a national pilot, funded by Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, using funds from the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The pilot included just three rangers and we were the only Trust in the north to be chosen.
The purpose of the Ranger’s role is to improve the green space on our hospital sites for environmental benefits, by increasing biodiversity and combatting climate change and support the physical and mental health of people. This applies to our staff, patients and members of our local communities. The importance of accessible and good quality green space for everyone became very clear during the pandemic, when spending time outside became a bigger part of people’s daily routine. As we move out of the height of the pandemic, using nature to help people recuperate, not just from long COVID but also the many different lasting impacts of the pandemic, is really important. Having the Ranger in our Trust is vital to helping address this need.
The Nature Recovery Ranger has been running general engagement events and also bespoke sessions for specific groups.
For example, the ranger has been working closely with interns on the DFN Project SEARCH supported internship programme for young adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. The ranger has run regular sessions with the interns to engage them with nature and complete gardening in the green space around their classroom and in the central garden on site. These activities gave the interns a sense of ownership and inclusion within the Trust. The ranger also taught them new skills and provided them with an alternative learning environment.
In November 2021 work on Highfield Community Garden was finished at Broadgreen Hospital.
The garden is formed of three main elements; a food growing area, an outdoor gym and a pollinator garden. Connecting with nature is proven to reduce stress, improve mood and overall wellbeing. This garden provides a space for reflection and relaxation for our staff, patients and visitors. The trees, shrubs and wildflowers absorb CO2 and help improve local air quality onsite.
The garden includes an outdoor gym for the community. Some of the equipment is smart, meaning that it captures human energy to create electricity that be used to charge your phone. The gym was designed and manufactured in Britain. For every piece of equipment in the gym, a tree has been planted in the NHS Forest.
The native wildflower meadow within the garden is helping to increase biodiversity on the hospital site by providing all important pollen and nectar sources for the local population of pollinators and other insects too. This is particularly important give that the UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows making them one of the rarest habitats in the country.