Staff from the NatWest Group have been giving up their time to create part of a new hedgerow that will increase bioversity at the Gartnavel Hospitals Campus.

As told in the Glasgow Times at Christmas, since the first covid lockdown use of the greenspace has gone up by more than 500%.

The hedgerow will provide a natural barrier, affording patients in adjoining wards some extra privacy, without restricting access to the park land.

Teri Grieve, Senior Project Officer at The Conservation Volunteers, said: “This is about increasing biodiversity and tackling climate change, but it also helps provide some more privacy for patients in the wards.

“The plants are all native to the area, including hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, apple and cherry trees and bushes, which when mature will provide fruit for harvest.

"There will also be willow which will provide opportunities for basket weaving, all part of natural, therapeutic activities for patients too.”

Duncan Conway, Team Lead for the volunteer team from NatWest Group, said: “This feeds into the key pillars of the bank, in terms of helping local communities and we are all Glasgow-based and we are all keen on the green agenda, and there’s nothing more green than planting trees.

“It’s nice to be out on a sunny day and be able to bond with the team.

"During covid, everyone was indoors and it’s good to be able to see everyone and it helps us to recapture some of the team bonding which might have been lost.”

Fiona Sinclair, Voluntary Services Manager of the Art in the Gart Mental Health volunteer programme at Gartnavel Royal Hospital, said she was delighted to have the volunteers from NatWest at Gartnavel.

She added: "With more and more people using the parkland, we want to build natural ways to allow a little more privacy for our patients in the wards.

"Once mature, the new hedgerows will provide a haven for wildlife and even fruit for harvest, without limiting access to what remains a valuable community asset."