10,000 crocuses to be planted at the Princess Royal Hospital

Ten thousand crocuses are to be planted at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford next month – with a sea of purple blooms expected next spring.

The project will be led by the Rotary Club of Telford Centre, and will see 40 Year 7 pupils from Hadley Learning Community in Telford, join the Rotarians to plant the crocus bulbs within hospital grounds on October 2. It is part of Rotary International’s Purple4Polio campaign to raise awareness of their fight to eradicate polio around the world.

From February, visitors to the hospital, which is run by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), will be welcomed by thousands of purple flowers which will bloom either side of the footpath from the car park down to the main hospital entrance.

The idea to plant the crocus corms at PRH came from Viv Marsh, Founder of the conservation charity Praise Bee and volunteer Community and Patient Representative for (SaTH) after he read about the efforts of the Rotary Club. As well as raising awareness of the campaign, the flowers will benefit patients and visitors and also encourage bees to multiply.

Sonia Roberts, President of the Rotary Club of Telford Centre, said: “We are delighted to work with The Shropshire and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, Praise Bee and the students of Hadley Learning Community to highlight the historic progress towards a polio free world. Together we are creating a spring flowering purple crocus walkway in the grounds of Princess Royal Hospital.

“Purple is the colour of the dye placed on the little finger on the left hand of a child to show they have been immunised against polio, hence the name Purple4Polio. With millions of children to vaccinate, this makes it easier to see who has been protected and who has not.”

Paul Roberts, Hadley Learning Community Principal, said: “Hadley Learning Community is incredibly proud to be associated with this amazing Rotary project. As a school we are always looking to engage in fundraising activities that lead to change and have an impact on our local community. The planting of ten thousand crocuses will be a visible reminder of the efforts by fundraisers, who have worked tirelessly to promote research that has resulted in the near eradication of Polio in this country and around the world. We feel it is so important at HLC to involve our students in such positive projects, in order to inspire them to make a difference later on in life.”

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at SaTH, said: “We are absolutely delighted to support this fantastic project which will benefit our patients and visitors, and help Rotary International raise awareness of their campaign. Our thanks also go to the staff and students at the Hadley Learning Community who will be helping to plant the thousands of bulbs. We look forward to seeing the results of their hard work in the spring when the crocuses will be in full bloom.”

Viv Marsh said: “When I read about Telford Rotary Club’s endeavours to highlight the eradication of the awful disease polio is across the world, that there was natural synergy between what they were doing and to what we, plus all the staff do throughout the Trust, every single day.”