Being in green spaces and gardening has benefits for our physical, mental and social wellbeing.¹ It seems logical that these should be embedded within our health and social care systems, including acute settings. 

In March 2023, three years after its inception, this became a reality at University Hospital Lewisham when we celebrated the opening of the pilot Healing Garden created in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Context

During the pandemic I was proud to observe my colleagues come together to develop innovative solutions to our new way of working and was deeply touched by the community response and support. Despite this, the effect it was having on morale and rates of burn-out were visible. As a novice gardener with spades of enthusiasm, I recognised the benefits of green spaces, being in nature and gardening, and wanted to bring that into the healthcare setting.

The process

The process was a multi-pronged team effort with many barriers and failed avenues from which I have learnt a lot. I found like-minded individuals within the hospital and sought out a senior mentor in Michael (‘Mick’) Jennings, a now retired intensive care consultant, without whom this project would not exist. He brought the garden to the ears of management when they were extremely occupied with the pressing matter of the pandemic.

Information gathering

The first stage was to establish and demonstrate a need for a green space. We created a survey for staff which showed unanimous support for a garden space and explored how it would be used. Recurring themes in the responses were:

• seating areas for lunch/quiet reflection
• wellbeing activities
• growing/harvesting edibles – an active gardening area
• wildlife friendly
• ability to include patient/community groups
• strong desire for staff involvement in creation and maintenance
• commemorative aspect.

Support and interest gathered pace – more than 60 of the 200 staff surveyed signed up to the garden club before we had a space to garden in. We identified a large area of overgrown shrubs and disused lawn and submitted our proposals to management. Liaising with the estates and facilities team we accessed a drawing of the hospital site plans, identified electric cabling which would impact on the garden design, and clarified ownership of the land. People were brought together throughout the hospital; a community was building around the creation of the garden. We visited local community gardens to share ideas on garden design, models of sustainability and future collaborations.

Building resources and partnership

Fundraising efforts commenced. Donations of seeds, cuttings and tools, and offers of manual labour were generously forthcoming from staff, local people and local businesses. Despite the building momentum of support from within the trust and local community, we lacked experience and expertise in designing and establishing a garden, so I contacted the RHS for help. Behind the scenes the RHS Communities Team was looking for a tangible way to support NHS keyworkers through gardening.

Months later, we received the incredible news that the RHS were interested in helping us. This led to a meeting with Andrea Van Sittart, Head of Outreach Development at the RHS, who is the driving force behind this project. With the RHS, we created a promotional video to help secure funding. As an RHS Ambassador, award-winning garden designer Adam Frost generously offered to give his time and expertise to design the garden following consultation with staff, patient and community groups. The RHS ran a fundraising appeal and secured several large donations from generous individuals. Work began in spring 2022, and the first plants were planted in June by NHS staff, community groups and volunteers.

One of the greatest contributions by the RHS has been the ongoing support of Community Development Officer, Alice Cornwell. Alice has been responsible for overseeing the development of a three-year activity programme and working with more than 40 community partner organisations. She runs a weekly garden club for staff and volunteers, and delivers an activity programme online and out in the local community, including yoga, wreath making, terrarium making, houseplant surgery, and wildlife watching.

Many patient groups benefit from the garden – labouring women taking walks, graded exercise for physiotherapy patients, and gardening sessions for people with dementia and their carers. A perinatal support group for women at risk of postnatal depression and psychosis use the garden as a space to run regular activities and a weekly wellbeing walk, helping to connect to their local community. Visitors and staff use the quieter spaces in the garden as somewhere peaceful to sit. The success of the project has led to the expansion of RHS Healing Gardens, and other regional hubs are in development.

More than 1,600 staff, volunteers, patients, and people from the local community have benefited from activities in the garden during the first year of opening, with many more using it informally, and this number continues to grow.

Reference

1. Gardens and Health. The King's Fund, 2016.