Northcare Charity secures Green Spaces funding to 'rewild' Fairfield Hospital

The NorthCare Charity has been selected as one of 18 organisations awarded funding from the Mayor's Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund as part of a £2 million initiative to support nature recovery projects across Greater Manchester.

The funding will enable the charity to revitalise Fairfield General Hospital's green spaces, which will benefit the staff, patients, and their families visiting the hospital and the wider community.

The project has immense potential, and the team are excited to see the positive impact it will have on our community.

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare has identified that green spaces on healthcare sites speed up post-surgery recovery, reduce the need for pain medication, and improve patients' physical and mental health outcomes as well as the wellbeing of hospital staff.

With this funding, the team can create an accessible green space that will encourage residents to get involved in nature recovery, from volunteering opportunities to building green skills.

"We are delighted to have secured £40,000 of Green Spaces funding to benefit our services in Bury," said Emma Heinicke, fundraising officer at NorthCare Charity.

"Not only will this improve the visual appeal of the hospital site, but there is also plenty of research to demonstrate the huge positive effect that green spaces can have on outcomes for our patients, as well as providing a positive atmosphere for staff and local residents.

"We're so excited to start working on the project and documenting our progress as it comes to life!"

 

 

Auto Trader has backed the project as part of its ongoing partnership with the Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF), which brings together communities and funding bodies keen to channel their resources into addressing environmental problems.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: "The natural environment is critical to the health of Greater Manchester's communities and the prosperity of our economy.

"That's why we put the environment at the heart of our Greater Manchester Strategy – our vision for a greener, fairer, more prosperous city region.

"The projects backed by the Green Spaces Fund over the last year and a half are always brilliant and demonstrate the creativity and passion of residents across the city region wanting to make Greater Manchester a better, and crucially, greener, place to live.

"These projects ensure everyone can access the benefits of green spaces, for both individuals and communities, and I look forward to these latest projects taking shape."