Latest News - 40 new trees planted as North Mid commits to a greener future
40 new trees planted as North Mid commits to a greener future
Last week marked the beginning of a transformative project as North Mid planted 40 trees on its grounds. These trees, provided by NHS Forest, signify our commitment to harnessing the full potential of our green spaces for the health and wellbeing of our community.
NHS Forest is a network of healthcare sites dedicated to the cause of transforming green spaces to create a positive impact on the community's health. By engaging with nature, we aim to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable future. In joining forces with other healthcare sites, North Mid has proudly participated in planting over 105,000 trees since 2009.
Driving these green initiatives for North Mid are dedicated individuals like Katie Knight, our paediatric emergency medicine consultant, who has been a part of North Mid since 2019. Along with Richard Gourlay, director of strategic development, they have led North Mid’s Sustainability Forum since 2020. The forum serves as a platform for discussing and implementing initiatives to enhance North Mid's sustainability efforts. They do this through initiatives like tree planting projects or collaborating with representatives from various departments to improve sustainability across the trust.
As we cultivate a green mindset, our paediatrics department took part in National Tree Week activities. These included educational sessions on sustainability and engaging painting sessions aimed to foster a sense of environmental consciousness and responsibility in our community.
What else have we been doing?
Furthering our commitment to using every inch of green space at North Mid, we have established a staff allotment. This ongoing project aligns with our broader goal of creating a sustainable environment within our hospital premises that also promotes wellbeing as staff are welcome to spend their breaks in the allotment. This includes other broader projects to do our part in combating climate change like:
- Meat free Mondays across the trust
- Pollution monitoring and reduction of private vehicle use to/from hospital.
- Switching to greener inhalers
- Amnesty of therapies equipment for re-use
If you have an interest in sustainability and wish to contribute to these projects or explore ways to make your department more sustainable, we invite you to join Katie Knight on the Sustainability Forum - northmid.sustainabilityforum@nhs.net
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