New woodland walk opened at Goldie Leigh
Walking in nature is a simple, cost free and powerful way to improve your physical, emotional and mental health.
At Oxleas, we want to create environments that are fit for the future and actively contribute to people’s wellbeing and health outcomes within the communities we serve.
To help us to achieve this, we have started to transform our Goldie Leigh site in Abbey Wood into a vibrant, green, health-led neighbourhood, making the most of access to nature to benefit service users, staff and the wider community.
The first part of these plans was the official opening of our re-instated woodland walk last week by Abena Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith and Thamesmead.
Ideas for the site include improving the quality of outdoor space for the community, allotments, the restored woodland walk and a children’s trail with equipment for our specialist teams to use as part of children’s therapy, and a wellbeing centre that can be used for a variety of activities to benefit the mind and body. We are working hard with partners and local voluntary organisations to make the most of the funding we have available to take these projects forward.
After the official ribbon cutting, everyone enjoyed the woodland walk which has been restored with the voluntary help of our staff and partners, before heading indoors for light refreshments and to enjoy the launch of our Goldie Leigh animation and exhibition boards, showcasing our green vision for the site.
Following the walk, Abena Oppong-Asare MP said:
“I think this is something that is needed in the community. I’m particularly interested in the health and wellbeing centre that is being created and it’s really good to see innovative ideas being put forward and seeing how they are being worked through locally with the community to meet their needs.”
Ify Okocha, Chief Executive of Oxleas, added:
“We’re excited to be working with communities, our partners, patients and their families to make the most of the nature and woodlands here. This is exactly what an organisation like Oxleas should be doing – not just supporting people who need healthcare but the wider community.”
- View our short film of the ribbon cutting ceremony here.
- Find out more about our plans in our animation.
- Further information can also be viewed here: Oxleas Woodland Walk Information Boards [pdf] 5MB
