Sensory Garden Project - Now Completed
SENSORY GARDEN - AN EXCITING NEW PROJECT
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in May 2019, the Hospital gardens were filled with people from the local community who had joined us to see the new Sensory Garden officially opened by Nick Hulme, CEO of the East Suffolk and North Essex Hospital Foundation Trust. The sun shone warmly and the plants responded as a mass of Alliums lit up the gardens with purple and visitors wandered freely or took a tour with one of the volunteer gardeners.
Harpist , Marie Young generously gave her time to play and benches around the garden were filled with visitors relaxing and listening to the music. Artist and teacher Sarah Lakin Hall who regularly works with clients in the Hospital Day Centre, had displayed their pottery, which had a ‘garden’ theme amongst the plants for everyone to enjoy. Tony Bone, President of the Friends thanked all the donors for making the project possible. He also thanked NHS Property Services for providing much of the infrastructure and management. He also thanked those who carried out the work, Roger Gladwell Landscaping and Garden Design, Ingleton Wood, CPS Building Services and volunteers from the League of Friends. He made a special mention of Anne Parsons who had the original idea for the garden and who was inspirational in making the project happen. He then introduced Nick Hulme to open the garden. Nick Hulme, expressed his delight with the garden and the opportunity it offered for those in the hospital and members of the local community to benefit from the healing qualities of spending time in a green space offering calm, peace and sensory stimulation. He hoped that those who were lonely or bereaved would find solace in the garden. He was impressed with the way the community had worked together to provide an exceptional resource which would be of long-term benefit to everyone. Michelle Fletcher, Matron who will shortly move to a new post, said how grateful she was to the League of friends for supporting the construction of such a beautiful garden and that it would be a huge support to the staff in helping the patients regain their health. After the opening ceremony everyone enjoyed tea and cakes, played on the outdoor musical instruments or sat in the sun chatting until late. It was a perfect Summer afternoon! |
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