Managing a nature positive healthcare estate
As part of Scotland’s Climate Week, we’re sharing a new video showcasing how NHS Lothian Charity staff are working with NHS Lothian grounds colleagues to deliver great spaces for people and nature.
Scotland’s Climate Week is an opportunity to celebrate and encourage climate action. A chance to learn more about what we can all do to help.
We’re shining a spotlight on some of the work happening across Scotland to make our NHS more sustainable – and the people behind this work.
Commissioned by NatureScot, the video explains how changing the management of grasslands at the Western General in Edinburgh has increased the number of pollinators seen at the site and been praised by patients and staff.
Good for our health, good for our planet
Our NHS estate includes a range of habitats including grasslands, hedgerows and woodlands. These are not just nice to look at, but provide a range of benefits sometimes referred to as ‘ecosystem services’.
These benefits include helping to reduce the risk of surface water flooding, capturing carbon and supporting pollinators. There is also a wealth of evidence that these greenspaces, and the opportunities to connect with nature that they provide, have a positive effect on people’s health and well-being.
Playing our part
Ian MacKenzie, Greenspace and Health Programme Manager at NHS Lothian Charity, who features in the video, says “Like the other public bodies in Scotland, the NHS has a duty to protect and support biodiversity.
“The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy highlights the need to enhance biodiversity in our urban green and blue spaces, so it’s important that the NHS plays its part. We’ve been working to improve the biodiversity at the Western General and other sites across the Lothians and there are opportunities to roll out this approach to other sites in the NHS”.
Ivan Clark, Urban Nature Manager at NatureScot said, “It’s great to be able to celebrate the work being done at the Western General.
“Valuing, protecting and managing our greenspace is an important part of the commitments laid out in the NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy. The NHS in Scotland, in partnership with NatureScot is currently looking across its whole estate and thinking about how they can do more to support wildlife and increase the benefits we get from nature.
“This is why this year, we’ve jointly commissioned a habitat survey of the whole NHS Estate and an assessment of the value of those habitats, known as a ‘natural capital account’. This will help us make the case for investment in NHS greenspace. It will also identify where we might intervene to ensure that the NHS estate can adapt to a changing climate with higher temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events such as surface water flooding.
Ian is starting to see the effect that these spaces are having on patients and staff. “We’ve seen staff come out here on a break and they’re taking photos of the flowers and butterflies. We’ve also had emails from patients saying ‘We love the wildflower meadows, they’ve cheered me up on my way to my appointment and brightened my day.’”
Ian Williams, Grounds and Gardens Team Leader, NHS Lothian, continues: “There’s a lot of cancer wards on site at the Western General, and (staff) work 12 hour shifts. I think sometimes they like coming into the grounds and gardens, just finding a quiet spot.”
Ian Williams, Grounds and Gardens Team Leader, NHS Lothian
Top tips – making space for nature
“We hope that as people see more wildflower meadows in Scotland’s greenspaces they will be inspired to do something for nature in their own gardens,” continues Ivan.
“Sowing a wildflower mix, or leaving a patch of grassland unmown through the summer can make a big difference for nature, but if people want to do more, our NatureScot website provides practical tips for everyone to help make space for nature, reverse nature loss and fight climate change.”