Plant power and biodiversity benefit young patients in wildlife garden renovation

PICTURED: Neath Port Talbot Hospital volunteer Ada Igwe Innocent helps fill the flower beds with soil.

Young patients at Neath Port Talbot Hospital will soon be able to get closer to nature in a newly-designed wildlife garden with a focus on biodiversity.

An area at the hospital’s Children’s Centre has been given a fresh look by converting a play space into somewhere for wildlife to thrive, benefiting paediatric patients and staff.

The centre provides services for children including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), paediatricians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Service.

Many of the children who use the services attend the centre regularly, and some over a long term.

PICTURED: Part of the play area before the renovation got underway.

Once the garden is finished, patients will be able to get close to wildlife and nature, which in turn can help their mental health and wellbeing.

Staff can also benefit from the area, either by using it as an opportunity to relax and recharge or by volunteering and maintaining it.

Plans for the wildlife garden include a pond, 100 native trees and five fruits trees being planted. There will also be a toolshed, benches, seeds and bulbs along with wildlife habitats such as bug hotels, hedgehog houses and birdboxes.

The renovation has been made possible through a Keep Wales Tidy initiative called Local Places for Nature, which transforms unloved areas into a beautiful garden for nature to blossom.

Work is underway, with plants and newly installed boxes already in place thanks to the Keep Wales Tidy team and hospital volunteers.

The renovation comes ahead of World Mental Health Day, which is on Thursday, October 10.

Bex Elliott, Paediatric Occupational Therapy administration officer, said: "The garden area to the rear of the Children's Centre has been somewhat neglected - there are a number of playground items that have come to the end of their useful life, and have been condemned as unsafe.

PICTURED: The area has undergone a big transformation.

"Therefore, children have been unable to use the space for several years. Replacing these items would have incurred a considerable cost, so we applied for the Keep Wales Tidy pack and we were delighted to have been successful with that.

"It will provide a pleasant and useful space for children, their families and staff to enjoy, as well as to allow local wildlife to thrive.

"The benefits of being outdoors and interacting with nature are becoming more universally accepted, and the garden will be of particular value to the young people accessing CAMHS.

“Children who visit the centre will be able to use a green outdoor space and get close to local wildlife in a way they may not experience elsewhere.”

She added: “This is a really exciting project which we have plenty of plans for. Further down the line, we hope to install new play equipment that will fit the theme of a wildlife garden.

“We have different phases of development that will each add a different aspect to the wildlife area.

“The pleasing aspect of renovating this area is that it will benefit patients, their families and our staff.”

Anyone can help maintain the garden by donating to The Neath Port Talbot Hospital Children’s Unit fund, which is one of hundreds of individual funds that come under the umbrella of Swansea Bay Health Charity.

This is the health board’s official charity. Money raised is used for equipment, staff training, research and special projects for the benefit of our patients and staff, above and beyond what the NHS can provide.

You can find out more on the Swansea Bay Health Charity website.