As well as transforming the core business of the health service there is an important opportunity to literally green the NHS: to improve air quality and visual surroundings for staff and patients; to reduce the need for artificial air cooling in buildings and to reduce the organisation’s impact on the environment. The Campaign for Greener Healthcare is working to establish the NHS Forest.

There are 1.3 million employees in the NHS and the NHS Forest will have 1.3 million mature trees in twenty years’ time. In forty years’ time, the centenary of the birth of the NHS, the forest will play a significant part in offsetting the reduced carbon footprint of the health service, and could account for as much as ten percent of the carbon footprint if we start now.

The NHS Forest will consist of trees on every NHS campus and in the local surrounding area, giving an excellent opportunity for involvement from the wider community and contributing to what has been called the Natural Health Service, namely the presence of trees, bushes, flowers, birds and butterflies on every campus, of great benefit to both patients and staff.

The NHS Forest will be available for commemoration and celebration by patients, relatives and professionals; for example, a sapling could be planted for each year of professional life when a person retires, and grateful patients could give a tree instead of a box of chocolates to thank a nurse for their care.
 

A Partnership

The Campaign for Greener Healthcare is working with the Forestry Commission, the Woodland Trust, NHS Trusts, Natural England, the Sustainable Development Unit and others to develop partnerships between the NHS and other organisations and to identify land where trees could grow. We will offer a package tailored to fit each organisation.

The NHS Forest will win hearts and minds by connecting staff with a very visible project to introduce the broader issues of sustainability. It will also link both staff and patients with their local green space providing both very tangible physical benefits and a symbolic connection with the wider environment.

www.nhsforest.org