Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Two garden designers are appealing for help from merchants in a bid to complete a garden to be unveiled at this year’s RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park – which seeks to raise awareness of the mental health crisis in the construction industry.
The Constructing Minds garden is set to be one of the main attractions at the prestigious horticultural event in Cheshire this July – and the landscape designer team of Carolyn Hardern and Jon Jarvis are asking the industry to get behind the project which aims to take the mental health crisis message to new audiences.
The duo have the vision to create a garden which incorporates materials from a construction site to highlight the role that green spaces play in positive mental health and wellbeing and have teamed up with construction charity Band of Builders to garner support. The Constructing Minds garden will be a 20m x 14m space with trees, ferns, bamboo and wildflower areas to create an overall sense of enclosure and refuge. It will feature recycled materials found on construction sites such as concrete and scaffold boards are included in the build. The garden is fully accessible by wheelchair, and there are plenty of seating options. A small stream flows gently through the garden. There are over 40 trees/shrubs and 800 ferns here.
Construction has the highest suicide rate of all industries, where an average of two workers take their own lives each working day.
In total the garden, in all its lush green colours, is costing in the region £40,000, and Carolyn and Jon have been asking other companies within the industry if they might like to get involved, particularly by sponsoring individual elements of the garden. They also welcome donated goods and are depending upon volunteers to help build their garden. Any donated monies left over will go equally to construction industry charities Band of Builders and Mates in Mind.
For more information visit:
https://jonjosefjarvis.wixsite.com/constructing-mindshttps://www.gofundme.com/f/constructing-minds-garden-tatton-2023
