Trust undertakes tree planting to help nature and the environment | News

_{Len Richards (above), Chief Executive at Mid Yorkshire, and Jason Matthews (below), Deputy Director of Finance, help to plant 4,000 tree whips during March.}

As part of a collaborative and inclusive effort, 4,000 trees have been planted by the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust at its Pinderfields site to help provide a host of sustainability and wildlife benefits.

The trees were gifted by NHS Forest, who support healthcare sites in transforming their green spaces to promote health, wellbeing and biodiversity.

The tree planting scheme took place over five days during March and will form a new 800 metre long boundary hedgerow around the Pinderfields Hospital fence line in Wakefield, along Bar Land and Aberford Road. This follows on from the planting of 1,500 trees in November, as part of National Tree Week, and will benefit nature and the general environment for many years to come. This is likely to be one of the biggest new hedgerow planting initiatives undertaken by any public sector organisation in the UK for many years.  

A mix of native broadleaf species were planted, with a diverse bare root sapling mix made up of beech, field maple, hornbeam, common hazel, dogwood, elder, bird cherry, crab apple, European spindle, hawthorn and guelder rose.

The planting of trees will provide a host of benefits including sequestering carbon, absorbing air pollution, helping to improve soil, decreasing surface water flood risk from over-saturated ground, enhancing security, and boosting visual amenity. The species rich hedgerow will also provide essential food and shelter for a wide array of wildlife.

Upwards of 50 volunteers from across the Trust and the wider community helped out on each of the five days, including members of the Trust's Executive and Board teams. Working in small groups, volunteers dug holes in the ground and placed small tree whips in the holes, which were then filled around the trees with soil.

Len Richards, Chief Executive at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “I very much enjoyed taking part in the Trust initiative to plant trees at Pinderfields. The idea is to create something of a barrier around the perimeter next to the road, which creates a much better environment. Planting trees on healthcare sites improves the areas we live and work in. They can provide privacy and seclusion for our staff and patients, help to cool buildings, provide cleaner air and create habitats for native wildlife. There was a great sense of camaraderie amongst the team of colleagues I joined and it was particularly enjoyable to see the fruits of our labour at the end of the day.” 

Peter Leighton-Jones, Head of Sustainability at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, commented: “When it comes to the Trust’s recent efforts, I think the following much-quoted proverb springs to mind: ‘society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in’. It’s often also said that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second-best time is now. Truer words have rarely been spoken and I was heartened to see so many people from different backgrounds embrace this mantra and work together so effectively as a team focused on the greater good. These trees will perform ecosystem services and provide invaluable social value for many decades to come, and I applaud and thank everyone who got involved.”