GARDENA Helps NHS Staff And Patients With Community Garden Scheme

GARDENA, the leading supplier in high-quality gardening products, has supported a community wellbeing initiative by the RHS by providing a selection of high-quality tools to support its NHS Sustainable Gardens across the UK.

The RHS has embarked on a programme to create a series of sustainable community gardens in hospitals and healthcare centres across the country, to benefit NHS staff, patient and community wellbeing by bringing them closer to nature.

GARDENA’s recent donation to nine gardens across the UK is part of their commitment to supporting initiatives that promote sustainable gardening and the local community.

To ensure each garden is sustainable, the RHS community outreach teams are engaging and training groups of volunteers at each of the sites, to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to care for the gardens in the longer term.

The gardens are situated at hospitals up and down the country from Gateshead to Guildford:

• Lewisham University Hospital
• St James’s Hospital Leeds
• Colchester Hospital
• Woking Community Hospital
• Halstead Hospital near Colchester
• CHP Parkside Community Centre Chelmsford
• Jarvis Health Centre Guildford
• Walkden Clinic Manchester
• Blaydon Health Centre Gateshead

Jo Sage Wellbeing Programme Development Manager at RHS said: “Community projects often struggle to find budgets for anything other than very minimal or second-hand tool supplies and so GARDENA’s excellent quality tools are very much appreciated. Having these tools at each of our gardens also means our outreach team don’t need to be carrying them around with them, which is helping to reduce our team’s carbon footprint as they can use public transport to get to sites instead of driving.

“We and the NHS staff, patients and communities at the medical centres are all really thankful for this very generous donation of tool bundles at each of our projects.”

Sarah Bentham, UK Marketing Manager at GARDENA, said: “GARDENA understands that community gardens often struggle with limited funds. These special green spaces deserve to be kept happy and healthy and provide the best possible outlet for the staff and patients using them. With this, we’re proud to have provided high-quality, sustainable gardening bundles made up of GARDENA’s core cutting, digging, and watering tools, for each of the NHS wellbeing gardens in support of this amazing initiative by the RHS.”
 

Source : GARDENA

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