This July, our Summer Garden Celebration event was held to commemorate 77 years of the NHS and celebrate the first anniversary of the Colchester Hospital Wellbeing Garden being open. 

Throughout the day, colleagues could drop-in to enjoy slices of cake and take a moment to explore the garden with each other. A number of hospital networks including the Staff Wellbeing team and Sustainability team also attended, offering and showcasing the support availible to staff and volunteers. 

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Community Outreach Team also organised wonderful workshops with Cara, from Make It Flourish, and Nick Rainbird, a Forest Bathing Practitioner. Staff could get involved in making floral posies, using flowers from the wellbeing garden and locally grown cut flowers, as well as attend guided Wellbeing Walks to learn more about the garden and the nature that it attracts. 

To ensure the ongoing sustainability of the garden, the RHS Community Outreach Team has created an ESNEFT gardening club to help maintain the garden and deliver a variety of wellbeing activities. Activities, like these, run throughout the year to help staff pause for a moment and experience the wellbeing benefits of spending time in nature. To get involved in the gardening club or sign up to other workshops visit: RHS Staff wellbeing workshops.