Greenfingers team get going at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice

Greenfingers, the small charity dedicated to creating gardens in children’s hospices around the UK, held an event at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield last week to encourage local horticulture businesses to get involved with an inspirational new garden set to be built there.

Greenfingers plan to build a beautiful, multi-faceted space aimed at enhancing the experience of children and families using Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.  The first steps towards making the garden a reality is to raise the funds necessary to make it happen and last week’s event at the hospice provided an opportunity for potential donors and local horticultural companies to hear more about plans for the garden, see the space that is set to be transformed and find out more about the great work the hospice does.

Forget Me Not and Greenfingers hope to inspire the local community to get involved in this worthwhile project and raise the £50,000 needed to build the garden. Representatives from Lindum Turf, Greenbelt Landscapes, Knowl Park Nurseries, RHS Harlow Carr, Utley Excavations, Rowlawn, Deco-Pak and Oak Tree Nurseries all came along to the event to learn more about the project and how they can be involved.

The new garden will make great use of the outdoor space in which the hospice sits, transforming it into a space that will be able to cater for a wide range of ages and needs. A ‘super sensory space’ for children with communication issues will be created alongside space for children to simply relax, have fun and engage with the natural world.

Like all Greenfingers gardens, the space will include elements specially designed to stimulate young people’s creative and imaginative play, as well as creating a valuable opportunity for children to forget about their troubles and simply enjoy being themselves. The Greenfingers team of expert designers will also directly incorporate the ideas of the young people who use Forget Me Not to make sure the finished garden truly reflects what they really want from a garden.

Matthew Wilson, Chairman of Greenfingers, commented: ‘At Greenfingers we are very excited at the prospect of making a wonderful garden for the children at Forget Me Not to enjoy.  We can’t wait to get started on building it and it’s been great to get everyone along today to hear about our plans and hopefully get involved.

We’ve always been very lucky to receive wonderful support from the horticulture industry and without that projects like this one at Forget Me Not simply couldn’t happen. If you would like to get involved in this inspiring project we urge you to get in touch and find out how you can help – though donations, gift in kind or volunteering.’

Vicki Finlay, Director of Care at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, added: ‘We are thrilled that Greenfingers have chosen us as their charity to support in 2013/14. Together we hope to raise the funds to be able to realize our plans for a garden that will create a special space for our children and families. Please help us to make this happen!’

To donate to Greenfingers, and support the plans for the garden at Forget Me Not, please call 01494 674749, email info@greenfingerscharity.org.uk, or visit www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk  Donations can also be made via Just giving at www.justgiving.com/greenfingers

The garden at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice is just one garden set to be built as part of Greenfingers’ ambitious ‘Rosy Cheeks’ appeal.  The ‘Rosy Cheeks’ appeal aims to raise funds to create at least ten gardens at children’s hospices around the UK over the next two years.