New Butterfly Memorial Garden opens at Prince Charles Hospital
The Butterfly Garden, a new space for bereaved families to remember babies loved and lost, opened today, Tuesday 1 August, at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.
The beautiful new garden is available to families wanting to take some time out to reflect and to remember their little ones.
ITV Wales presenter Andrea Byrne who officially opened the Butterfly Garden today said: “It’s great to be here today to open the Butterfly Garden and to remember those babies that are lost. It’s really important for families to have a quiet space such as this garden where they can sit and reflect and talk to others if they wish about their loss. Being someone who has experienced baby loss on a number of occasions this is very close to my heart and it’s important to support families and to raise awareness of what support families can be provided with after the loss of a baby.”
Myscha-dene Bates, specialist bereavement midwife explains: “The concept of a hospital-based garden of remembrance is something we have wanted to develop for our families for some time. Many of our brave families, who sadly suffer the loss of a baby, talk about the comfort they take in returning to the one place that their little one and the family would have likely spent most of their short, but precious time together.
“With this in mind we wanted to work towards developing a peaceful, calming outdoor area of remembrance for families to visit on site, following the loss of their baby.
“Here they can take time for reflection, add a remembrance heart into our butterfly remembrance wall, post a ‘letter to heaven’ via the ‘post-box to heaven’, or plant something for their baby. The benefits of being outdoors in green space are well documented and known to be hugely beneficial for emotional wellbeing, and so this will also be a space where we have planned outdoor creative arts therapy workshops for bereaved women and families, this summer.
“The many long hours, and extensive efforts that have gone into this beautiful project are testament to just what it means to not only our maternity team, but the wider organisations involved, and most importantly the families who remain at the centre of our service.”
A butterfly remembrance wall is available for families where they can write their babies name on a heart, and drop it into their chosen butterfly. The beautiful butterflies were created by Kliaste Jordan and tech team at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s product design department using materials paid for by money raised by local families.
The build of the garden was supported and overseen by contractor Tilbury Douglas who are currently completing the £260m refurbishment work at the Hospital and supported by Darlow Lloyd Construction (DLC).
Standing at the centre of the garden is a whisky barrel planter from Whisky Barrel Brothers in Abergavenny has been donated as well as the tree which stands in it from Abergavenny Garden Centre. The Rotary Club donated a lawn mower and maintain the garden and Men’s Sheds have also been supportive with a number of planting aspects and upkeep of the maintenance.
Myscha said: “We have received so much support in creating this garden and I would like to thank each organisation and individual for their contribution. We look forward to welcoming our families into the garden in the coming months and hope that it will be a source of comfort for so many in our communities.”
01/08/2023