In the run-up to summer our patients have expressed an interest in learning about gardening and horticulture, as well as growing their own produce to use in their meals, so in a joint venture with our Occupational Therapy team, Recovery College and Education Lead, we are expanding our work in the greenhouse and looking at the surrounding areas in order to create a new, usable space. In a bid to be one step ahead of the game, we’ve started off some vegetable and bedding plant seedlings in propagators ready for when the ground has been cleared. As you can see, there is still a lot of work to do, but the patients have made incredible progress so far, and hopefully, it won’t take too long until we can start enjoying the rewards of growing our own vegetables.
Also, just in time for Easter, we have had 2 new residents at Cheswold Park Hospital! Named by our patients, our first resident, “Rocky” the Robin had established her nest in a dustbin in our greenhouse over the last weekend, and was discovered by our patients and Occupational Therapy team when they went to tend to their seedlings. Not only that, but it also appears that Rocky was carefully nurturing 4 eggs in her nest. On Monday morning, our patients and Occupational Therapy Team went to tend to the grounds and we delighted to see all 5 eggs have hatched. The patients are still deciding on names for the chicks, but we are pleased to report that all 5 appear healthy and happy. The second newest resident at Cheswold Park was a mother duck that chose to nest in one of our ward gardens. The mother duck hatched 5 ducklings over the last week, and they have now all happily moved to the pond.
