More than a third of City’s meadow boxes to bloom on NHS grounds

Health facilities across Grampian are set for a blooming marvellous summer in 2025 thanks to Aberdeen City Council’s Meadow-In-A-Box initiative which is supported by HMP Grampian.

32 of the 85 meadow boxes built so far by people in prison at Peterhead, and filled and distributed by the City Council’s Ranger Service, have been placed at hospitals and GP practices across the region.

Debjani Sarkar, Sustainability Support Officer at NHS Grampian explained: “As part of our Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy we’re aiming to increase the coverage of natural habitats and wildflowers across our estates. The Meadow-in-a-Box initiative is a really helpful part of this.

“Research shows that exposure to green space improves our mental well-being, reduces stress and improves mood. Even when patients are not physically able to go outside, those with visual access to natural outdoor spaces require less pain medication and heal faster.

“Trees and plants also play a significant role in reducing pollutants in the air we breathe. Poor air quality is now cited as the most serious environmental risk to public health in the UK so we need trees and plants more than ever to help prevent respiratory conditions from developing or worsening.”

Each Meadow-in-a-Box is a simple wooden planter built in the joinery workshop of HMP Grampian, filled with compost made by Aberdeen City Council’s gardening teams, and sown with a native wildflower seed mix provided by NatureScot. Countryside Rangers from Aberdeen City Council delivered the planters and led seed-sowing activities with children at many Meadow-in-a-Box locations.

Inside every box is everything needed to prepare, sow and grow a mini wildflower meadow. In just a few months, it grows nectar-rich plants that help to feed pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Seeds can be sown in Spring or early Autumn and the boxes are best placed in a sunny area.

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill added: “I want to thank the NHS Grampian and health and social care partnership staff for supporting the Meadow in a Box project. Their support does not just increase the number of Meadows in a Box in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, it will help bring a mental health boost to patients and staff at each site, whilst also providing important pollinator food and cleaning the air across the region.

“The City Council is hoping to expand the Meadow-in-a-Box project across Scotland and working with community partners is a key part of this.”

Find out more about NHS Grampian’s approach to tackling climate change: www.nhsgrampian.org/sustainability

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Meadow-in-a-Box was funded by NatureScot as part of the Nature Restoration Fund received by Aberdeen City Council in 2023 and 2024. It also provided hundreds of wildflower seed packets for free in 2023 and 2024.