Location
Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
Fitzrovia, Central London, W1
Core Goal
Measure the impact on employee wellbeing of sensory planting combined with nature engagement.
Timeline
Six months from planning to planting to nature engagement to measurable wellbeing benefits.
The challenge
The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour has a series of roof terraces which looked good for a couple of months of the year. The staff used the outdoor seating areas, but the gardens generated little interest and employees did not get the full nature benefit.
Bee Greener saw the potential of much more than attractive outdoor spaces. By transforming them into welcoming, sensory-rich gardens, employees could step away from their desks, recharge and connect with nature during the working day.
The vision
Our vision was to create a living workplace terrace that supports both employees and nature—transforming an outdoor space into a welcoming garden which has tangible wellbeing benefits and increases biodiversity.
Our vision established three key objectives:
To give employees a meaningful role in shaping and caring for the space.
To measure whether active engagement with nature could strengthen their connection with the natural world and improve their wellbeing
To improve the quality and biodiversity of the terrace through sensory and pollinator-friendly planting;
To bring this vision to life, we introduced sensory planting to include a new working herb garden and medicinal garden.
The process
We set out to create a stronger sense of ownership and connection through co-creating the gardens with employees. By combining sensory planting with meaningful, hands-on engagement, we gained a better understanding of what employees wanted from their space.
Fun activities such as selecting favourite herbs to grow and adopting plants provided insight into likes and dislikes and encouraged shared ownership.
The planting was designed to stimulate the senses through colour, scent, texture and movement. It also provided food and habitat for pollinating insects and other urban wildlife, creating spaces that benefit both people and nature.
The Grand Reveal
Employee involvement and guided nature experiences transformed the terrace into an everyday wellbeing resource—encouraging more people to use it, stay longer and build a stronger connection with nature.
Results at a glance
Client impact
“This has totally surpassed our expectations! Bee and her team are meticulous in delivery and have created a wellbeing and nature sanctuary in central London in less than eight months! Our outside space has been transformed into a thriving area that is used and talked about by the staff. They all feel the benefit and it has sparked an interest in plants, wildlife and biodiversity with our scientists and students from all over the world. They now go outside to wind down and take in nature–a gift in central London!”