The Great Outdoor Gym Company helps the NHS Forest plant new woodlands

The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO, http://www.tgogc.com/) is helping the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare's NHS Forest project (http://nhsforest.org/) to plant new woodlands at several healthcare sites across the UK. TGO have generously sponsored more than 4,000 trees for the NHS Forest, and have pledged a further 300 trees to our charitable programme. 

Thanks to TGO's sponsorship, new woodlands have been created at Sky Edge, on Sheffield City Council's land, to mark the work of Dr Dilraj Sokhi, a Consultant Neurologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who organised the tree planting event as a thank you to colleagues before leaving Sheffield to become a consultant in Kenya. His move is part of the World Health Organisation’s campaign to bridge the treatment gap for people with epilepsy in the developing world.

Elsewhere,150 trees have also been planted at The Malvern Medical Centre Prospect View. The site, which is managed by Malvern Community Forests, will provide an area of rest and relaxation for both staff and patients to use and enjoy. And Bradford Royal Infimary have planted a further 60 trees to join their woodland, which was established last year as part of the NHS Sustainability Day.

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust have created an area of willow woodland on their Guild Park site, surrounding the pond at this mental health facility. This takes their NHS Forest tree planting to well over 1,200 trees, which have helped to green the estate as part of their innovative sustainable mental health programme. “The benefits of creating woodland on our site are endless, from encouraging walking in a natural setting and giving us the opportunity to work closer with our partners, staff, volunteers, patients and local communities. As an organisation we place high value on the NHS Forest’s and The Great Outdoor Gym Company’s continued support and would like to thank you all for helping us achieve a life time legacy for the project at Lancashire Care,” Elizabeth Harrison, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Georgie Delaney, Creative Director of TGO, said: “The Great Outdoor Gym Company Ltd sponsor the NHS Forest to plant trees in hospital grounds. This is an excellent way for us as a green company to meet part of our sustainability policy and offset our carbon footprint. We love the idea of creating forests in hospital gardens and truly believe the 'Great Outdoors' is healing for everyone!"

The NHS Forest is very grateful for the ongoing support of TGO in creating these wonderful new woods to benefit thousands of people's health and wellbeing. “Thanks to the Great Outdoor Gym Company a number of our NHS Forest sites will be creating woodlands which will bring environmental and therapeutic benefits for all who access the healthcare estates,” said the NHS Forest Coordinator.