Wakehurst & Princess Royal Hospital Winter Partnership
On Friday 10th December, Wakehurst celebrated 30 years of the Princess Royal Hospital with a festive tree donation. The teams from Wakehurst and the Princess Royal hope that the Nordmann Fir, towering at 12ft tall, will form a heart-warming welcome for visitors in the hospital foyer.
To mark the 25th year of the winter partnership between the pair, Wakehurst staff invited students from local Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) school, Woodlands Meed, to help decorate the tree. Together, the staff and students will select lanterns from previous editions of Glow Wild, Wakehurst’s winter lantern trail, to adorn the branches.
In reusing some of the lanterns from the winter event, the team hopes that hospital patients and visitors alike can share the experience of Glow Wild, now in its eighth year.
25 Years Celebratory Christmas Tree
Iain Parkinson, Acting Head of Landscape and Horticulture says “Having worked at Wakehurst for over 35 years, I’ve had the joy and privilege of working with the Princess Royal Hospital since the beginning, and as the birthplace of my children, the hospital and its wonderful staff hold extra significance for me personally.
We are thrilled to be celebrating 25 years of donating a Christmas tree to this incredibly important community on their 30th anniversary.”
Madeline Hammersley, former Princess Royal Hospital Receptionist says “We recognise that the festive season can be an incredibly difficult time for our patients, staff and their loved ones, and make every effort to ease their experience.
We are delighted that our long-standing partnership with Wakehurst continues on this special anniversary.”
