A group of green-fingered volunteers has brightened up the railway station at Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire by creating a new sensory garden.
The group are from the All Aboarders Welwyn Garden City Station Adoption Group.
Their aim was to brighten up the station by adding new flower beds and planters at the station as well as maintaining the existing shrubs there.
The new garden is located on platforms 1 and 2 and has been designed to incorporate plants that are accessible to customers with different needs.
The plants have been chosen to stimulate the five senses of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch.
We're thrilled to be able to launch this new sensory garden
Chair of the All Aboarders, Lynda Cowan
Around 20 volunteers from the All Aboarders group spent many hours weeding, digging, and planting to bring the garden to life.
Their efforts will both help improve the look and feel of the station to encourage biodiversity in the area.
Customers travelling through Welwyn Garden City train station can now enjoy the efforts of the volunteers with a new splash of colour just in time for spring.
The garden is the latest project that Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is promoting across its network to support nature, with six stations recently having bee hotels and bird boxes fitted.
The garden was opened on Wednesday, 13 March, when the All Aboarders were joined by colleagues from Govia Thameslink Railway, Siemens Mobility, and Network Rail.
Siemens Mobility made a donation of £2,841 to fund the new sensory garden, as well as to purchase five new troughs and three new heritage posters to be displayed at the station.
Welwyn Garden City Rotary Club also presented the All Aboarders with a cheque for £200 to help freshen up some of the flower beds.
Further information about the All Aboarders can be found by clicking here.
Elsewhere on the railway network in Essex, a wildlife garden has been created at Wrabness station, and an insect hotel has been installed at Rochford station.
It was fantastic to involve the local community in this project and the sensory garden is now available for our customers to enjoy just in time for spring. We hope it will help passengers connect with nature as they travel across our network.
Karen Sherwin, Station Manager at Welwyn Garden City
Chair of the All Aboarders, Lynda Cowan, said: We're thrilled to be able to launch this new sensory garden at Welwyn Garden City, because plants are beneficial for people's mental health and wellbeing, so we hope passengers can enjoy this beautiful garden for years to come
Kayleigh Pomfret, Environment and Sustainability Advisor for Siemens Mobility
We're thrilled to be able to launch this new sensory garden at Welwyn Garden City, because plants are beneficial for people's mental health and wellbeing, so we hope passengers can enjoy this beautiful garden for years to come
Chair of the All Aboarders, Lynda Cowan
