RSK employees plant trees in supports of the NHS Forest as part of the Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability initiative

As part of RSK’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability initiative, we encourage our staff to take part in social charitable work. Recently, 23 of our team members were involved in a tree-planting event at Liverpool’s Aintree University Hospital. Over the course of two days, the team planted over 250 trees and created two small copses, which link to a nearby mature woodland that spans 14 hectares. The species planted included: Alder, Birch, Bird Cherry, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Hazel, Oak and Rowan. As these trees grow, they will provide a habitat for a huge variety of insects, birds and other wildlife.

The event, which coincided with National Tree Week, aimed to plant some of the 1000 trees that will create the NHS Forest. This initiative is run by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) and is sponsored by RSK. The NHS Forest is a project that aims to inspire and support healthcare sites in the UK and help to transform their green spaces into hubs for health, wellbeing and biodiversity. By creating lush gardens, full woodlands, orchards, meadows and more, the CSH can help support the recovery and wellbeing of patients while providing habitat for wildlife and reducing carbon.

“As a relatively new employee, it was a great way to meet colleagues and understand a little more about the clients that we work for. Giving back to our community is important to me personally and one of the RSK values that drew me to the business. I look forward to the next event!” Natalie Ball

During the event, RSK volunteers took on other woodland management tasks in the Bluebell woods nearby, including removing 1000 sycamore saplings. As an invasive species, sycamore grows fast and large, preventing light from reaching the woodland floor and stopping more desirable native species, such as Hawthorn, Holly and Oak, from growing and flourishing. Removing the saplings means that the native species now have a chance to come into their own, supporting the local ecosystem and helping wildlife and insects in the area.

“We spent the day planting native trees within the hospital grounds and then removing non-native trees like Sycamore, we did this as, believe it or not, but Sycamore only houses up to our 15 species! I had a great day, it felt great to get out from behind the desk and spend the day outdoors and do some good.” Katie Trafford

The NHS Forest is the flagship project of the CSH’s Green Space for Health programme. RSK started sponsoring the CSH in January 2022 and in that time, has helped by not only buying trees for the recent event in Liverpool but also by committing to give pro-bono advice when needed. Bringing in some RSK colleagues as volunteers on the day was a fantastic tie-up for this partnership and delivered social value for the business.

Warren Percival, RSK Business Development Director for Healthcare, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity to add some value back to the local community close to our head office in nearby Helsby. The NHS Forest is a fantastic initiative, and one which deserves as much support as possible.

“As part of our corporate partner commitment to the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, I’m delighted that members of our team can provide support to local projects. This is a great way to get colleagues out from behind the desk and into the local environment to make a difference. This is just one of many projects and opportunities that we will be involved in as our sponsorship programme and relationship with CSH progresses. I look forward to being involved in such a great initiative!”

Nick White, CSH Liverpool Ranger, added: "It was fantastic to host the volunteers from RSK. We got far more done than I anticipated due to the hard work and enthusiasm of the whole team. I look forward to further opportunities to work with RSK."