NHS trust plants 1,000 trees outside Pinderfields Hospital for National Tree Week

National Tree Week, which ran from November 25 to December 3, is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, with thousands of trees planted in the helipad field at Pinderfields Hospital to mark the start of the tree planting season.

The trees were donated by Equans to MY Hospitals Charity, the charitable arm of Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, alongside a further 500 trees to contribute to other planting planned for winter.

Around 40 volunteers from across all three organisations braved the wintry conditions to plant the trees over two days, including executive team and board members.

Work involved pre-planting, rotavating, digging of trenches, planting of tree saplings and laying of mulch.

Phillip Marshall, director of workforce and organisational development at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “This was a fantastic initiative to be involved with and I could see first-hand how much time and effort had gone into the arrangements to make this the success it has been.

"It was inspiring to see the close partnership working come to fruition and it would not have been possible without all the work performed by the volunteers and the generous donation of the trees.

"Thank you to everyone involved - it was a couple of days to be proud of!”

A mix of native broadleaf species were planted, which included Field Maple, Hornbeam, Common Hazel, Dogwood, European Spindle and Guelder Rose.

Martin Bishop, senior electrical technical services manager at Equans, said: “Equans were delighted to take part in National Tree Week with our stakeholders.

"Despite the challenging weather conditions, the team absolutely loved the tree planting aimed at making a lasting difference in the communities in which we operate such as Pinderfields.”

Peter Leighton-Jones, head of sustainability at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “This is a wonderful example of positive partnership working, which will leave a lasting legacy in the local area, whilst also benefitting nature and the general environment for many years to come."

In early 2024, the trust will also be planting a further 4,000 trees, which have been gifted by NHS Forest, to form a new boundary hedgerow around the Pinderfields fence line.