Corporate Team Building with The Institution of Fire Engineers

We had a great day with the Institution of Fire Engineers at Stratford Hospital kitchen garden. Employees of IFE came together to discuss plans for the future of their organisation and to participate in green team building activities which help the Forest of Hearts and the local environment. Considering some of the employees had previously only talked over zoom, it was exciting to offer a space for them to meet outside and take part in activities involving living things and the earth.

Carrying on from the success of creating living walls with DHL, the employees at IFE were asked to construct the modular boxes which go into these walls. They planted eighteen boxes in total using plants such as Sedum.

These boxes will be slotted together to create six vertical units to join the two we have already positioned at each side of the entrance to the car park at Stratford Hospital. In this position, the bright greenery will be visible to patients and staff who frequently use the car park, and the plants will attract pollinators, boost the biodiversity of the area, and sequester traffic pollution. The Forest of Hearts is now one step further in our goal of creating 100 linear metres of living wall in Warwickshire.

We also engaged the teams from IFE in various informal discussions about the future of their organisation, touching on subjects such as their Programme for Change, supporting each other at key times, leadership and management, and volunteer motivation.

Between these talks, the employees of IFE took part in other tasks, including creating recycled plant pots and using them to propagate Sempervivum. Once they grow bigger, these little succulents will be used in living walls and hospital gardens of the future.

Team building days with the Forest of Hearts give organisations the chance to help local communities and increase biodiversity, while benefitting from the wellbeing that comes with bringing the office outdoors. Many thanks to IFE for joining us!