Birmingham Hospice has opened a new therapeutic garden, providing a peaceful and relaxing space to be used by children who are experiencing grief.
Over the last few months, the team at the hospice have been working hard to get The Dragonfly Garden ready at its Selly Park site, with the support of generous volunteers and donors.
It features a variety of landscaping, including planted and paved areas, a water feature and sculptures, and an activity bench.
The hospice’s Children’s Healing and Therapeutic Support (CHATS) Team offers both pre- and post-bereavement support for children and young people when a loved one has died, or is facing a terminal illness.
The garden will be a safe space for children to use with our CHATS Team to help them talk through their problems and cope with their grief.
Children’s Therapeutic Practitioner Karen Ward, who set up the CHATS Team, has been aiming to get a garden like this set up for some time, and planning began in earnest last year.
She said: “Research has shown that a child’s optimal wellbeing can be improved through a connection with nature. Senses are stimulated from being among the beautiful sights of colourful flowers, scents from plants such as lavender and the sounds of birds and bees all providing children with solace and peace at a time of trauma.
“The children’s therapeutic garden will provide a magical space where children can explore and express their emotions on their journey through grief. It can also be a place for memories to be made and items left by the children as a lasting tribute to their loved ones.”
It has been named the Dragonfly Garden, as dragonflies represent transformation and resilience through times of difficulty, hardship and grief, giving hope for the future.
The vision became a reality thanks to the generous support of Danni Swann, who designed the garden with the support of her company Glancy Nicholls Architects, garden landscaper Lee Linden who dated his time and £1,500 to the project and his colleague Mark Wilkes, and Unity Trust Bank whose team volunteered for a week and also donated £2,000.
The hospice has also received grant funding for the project from the Rowlands Trust, the National Garden Scheme – Community Garden Grants, and the Albright Grimley Charity.
One of the children from the hospice’s Young Person’s Forum spoke about the garden and said: “It’s so peaceful out here, I can’t wait to sit and just think about my dad here. He would have loved this space”.
