“Seeing the young kids helping to put in the plants in the flower beds was both fun and filled me with joy – it’s so nice to see St George’s Health and Wellbeing providing a space for the community.” – Carol White, Deputy Chief Operating Officer

North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) had the honour of hosting around 60 Year 1 budding gardeners from the local primary school on Friday 3 July.

Pupils from Suttons Primary School in Hornchurch donned their caps and rolled up their sleeves to get their hands dirty as part of a community planting event with the aim of creating a welcoming space for the service users, patients and their carers, as well as the staff at St George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub.

The lunchtime session was filled with excitement, laughter and a little bit of chaos as the children dug holes, made friends with the local wildlife and planted flowers into planters kindly donated by Artic Building Services.

Irvine Muronzi, Integrated Care Director Havering said: “I really enjoyed participating in the gardening session with the children—it was genuinely uplifting to see their enthusiasm and those green little fingers hard at work. Experiences like this truly capture the spirit and purpose behind the whole build, as it’s all about creating a space that brings together the wider community, including local schools.”

The planting activity was linked closely to the children's curriculum, giving them the chance to take lessons learned in the classroom and apply them in a real-life setting while making a colourful contribution which will hopefully bloom for many years to come.

Mrs Nash, Year 1 teacher:  "Thank you for giving our Year 1 pupils the opportunity to take part in the planting activity. It was a wonderful enrichment opportunity for the children. A special thank you to your staff and volunteers who made the experience so fun and engaging. We look forward to coming back for a visit and seeing our hard work flourishing."

 

Organised by our Estates team, Jamie Coulson, Maintenance Officer and Tom McDermott, Maintenance Manager said: “We're responsible for maintaining a safe, welcoming and pleasant environment for everyone who visits St George's, and involving the local community is an important part of that. We hope this is the first of many community projects and look forward to working with more local schools and the wider community to create opportunities that make a positive difference for everyone who uses our services."

Donations came from Artic Building Services who also joined us for the occasion.