WIZARD GARDENS working with Little Havens Children’s Hospice

Little Havens Children’s Hospice near Rayleigh in Essex is getting together with Wizard Gardens to create a maze for their gardens.

What Little Havens is about.

Before our involvement with the project we had only a hazy idea of what Little Havens might provide.

Obviously there would be first class medical, nursing and back-up services, all directed towards the health and well being of the children.

What we had not appreciated at all was that there is also care and help provided for the welfare of the whole family as well as the sick child.

Having a child who has a life-threatening or life-limiting illness brings an unbearable burden to the family, Many of the things we take for granted may not be possible:

Also siblings may feel greatly neglected.

All this adds up to a pretty good recipe for family breakdown. Little Havens goes a long way to alleviate this situation offering short term breaks from the rigours of 24/7 home care.

It does this by providing accommodation for all the family – completely free.

This allows the whole family to take a break from the demands of caring, take time for themselves and each other and to recharge their batteries.

Little Havens provides a home from home environment in beautiful surroundings. This helps enormously to inspire trust in the children and their families and to dispel feelings of fear, isolation and hopelessness and even allows them to spend time apart.

The gardens are a joy to walk around and for the children to play in and are a great help in creating the atmosphere for the breaks to be successful.

The Maze.

The maze that we will be constructing will even further help to create this cosy but interesting environment that is so essential.

Unlike a conventional maze it will be more like a walk in the countryside. Paths will meander through areas of wild grasses, shrubs, and trees etc. all planted with a view to attracting wild life.

On its way to the exit the path will visit many fun features including:

Raised Fish Pond Children’s Flower Garden Wizard’s Grotto Tunnel Jungle Figures Themed Shelter Bird Feeding Sites Magical, Musical Tree Circle

The maze will provide a welcome diversion for the children and their families. Ever changing with the seasons and bringing everyone close to nature it will help mend relationships that have suffered during traumatic times.

Funding the cost of the Maze.

Fundraising must be found outside of Little Havens present income stream. It will be generated by:

• Wizard Gardens will be giving its own time for the research, design and implementation of the project.
• We are expecting to have all the materials, plants, trees etc. donated by the various suppliers or purchased with generous discounts.
• Fundraising by Donations will be sought for the labour aspects of the scheme and to purchase materials that may still be required.

If you would like to give a helping hand to this a'maze'ingly worthwhile project click here. This takes you to the donation page on the Little Haven's website. Please use the donation choice General and your donation will be automatically flagged for the maze project.

Donations entitle you to automatic membership of the Wizard Gardens Club and to receive your £5 voucher for a plant order with Thompson & Morgan - Young Plants.

When the design has been completed it will be put up on this page. We will be adding photographic updates of the construction as we progress.

Like to learn more about Little Haven's? Visit the rest of their website at www.littlehavens.org.uk.