Projects to create green spaces for patients to receive share of £1m

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Projects to create and improve access to green spaces for patients, hospital staff and local communities are receiving a share of £1 million, funded by Starbucks’ disposable cup charge.

Eight NHS charities will be awarded grants worth between £25,000 and £200,000 over two years, to build spaces that support patients and communities with limited access to nature.

The money comes from the Greener Communities Fund, an initiative from environmental charity Hubbub and NHS Charities Together, now in its second year, funded by Starbucks’ 5p cup charge to customers.

Research has shown that spending time in nature can have a myriad of health and wellbeing benefits.

A OnePoll survey commissioned by the Greener Communities Fund suggested that eight in 10 people feel healthier and more energetic after spending time in nature.

Meanwhile, 70% reported improved mental and physical health including better sleep, reduced stress and improved mood, it found.

Another recent report from The Wildlife Trust into the benefits of green social prescribing – supporting others to spend time in nature – showed that the NHS could save £625 million a year.

However, data recently published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that one million fewer people are gaining health benefits from nature compared with 2020.

The recipients of the Greener Communities Fund this year include a sensory garden for children with additional health needs in Dorset and a garden for group activities including disability-friendly play equipment for children in Haringey, north London.

The money will also go towards an outdoor space for patients with long-term health conditions, dementia or mobility issues in Stockport, Greater Manchester, a woodland space for hosting nature-based wellbeing groups in Cornwall and a garden to facilitate nature-based rehabilitation for patients recovering from injuries in Bristol.

Eight different sites in Lanarkshire have been granted funding for therapeutic spaces for food growing and gardening, as have a revitalised courtyard area in hospital grounds in Leeds and a mosaic of wildlife habitats in Greenwich, south London.

The winning projects were selected by a panel which included representatives from Hubbub, Starbucks and NHS Charities Together.

Ellie Orton, chief executive at NHS Charities Together, said: “We know that there is a strong link between green spaces and improved health and wellbeing, but unfortunately there remains significant inequality in access to these spaces.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Hubbub and Starbucks for a second year to continue to help remove barriers to nature and build on the incredible successes of the projects we’ve supported to date.”

Gavin Ellis, director and co-founder at Hubbub, said: “Initiatives to harness the enormous potential of green social prescribing have never been more crucial.

“Improving access to green spaces not only hugely benefits people’s mental and physical health, but also increases biodiversity and builds our sense of connectedness with the natural world.”

Dr Radha Modgil, GP and broadcaster, said “As a doctor and someone who cares deeply about health and the natural world, it is incredible to see the two come together to mutually benefit through the Greener Communities Fund.

“The work that NHS Charities Together, Hubbub and Starbucks are doing to improve access to green spaces is fundamental to changing the conversation around health, using nature and social prescribing to improve wellbeing.”

Last year the Greener Communities Fund supported charity projects like the transformation of 10,000 square metres of unused outdoor space into a garden for young people in mental health crisis in Birmingham and the development of an outdoor space for ambulance staff and their local communities in Yorkshire.