Sensory garden planted at Welwyn Garden City station

Around 20 members of the All Aboarders Welwyn Garden City Station Adoption Group spent hours weeding, digging and planting earlier this month to help bring the garden to life.

The sensory garden will help to encourage biodiversity in the area (Image: GTR/Sophie Christian)

The garden, located on platforms one and two, features plants that can be enjoyed by each of the five senses - sight, smell, sound, taste and touch - making them accessible to customers with different needs.

Station manager Karen Sherwin said: "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."

Volunteers helping to plant the sensory garden (Image: GTR/Sophie Christian)

The garden will also help to encourage biodiversity in the area, and is one of many projects supporting nature across the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) network - including bee hotels and bird boxes fitted at six stations.

The All Aboarders volunteers were supported by GTR, Siemens Mobility and Network Rail colleagues to plant the garden.

Siemens donated £2,841 to fund the planting, five new troughs and three new heritage posters across the station.

The sensory garden was created at platforms one and two (Image: GTR/Sophie Christian)

Kayleigh Pomfret, environment and sustainability advisor for Siemens Mobility, said: "This was a great initiative to be a part of, from being involved at the very start and seeing it delivered on the day.

"The project will help to make the railway a great experience for its passengers and its community, as well as highlighting the local rail heritage."

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The All Aboarders were also presented with a £200 cheque from the Welwyn Garden City Rotary Club to help freshen up the flowerbeds.

A volunteer tidying up the station's flowerbeds (Image: GTR/Sophie Christian)

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."

The All Aboarders were established in 2018, and work to add new flowerbeds and planters while maintaining existing shrubberies.