Celebrating the Opening of the Visitor and Family Garden at Bullingdon Prison
On 3rd June, after two years of planning, fundraising, and dedication, we were thrilled to officially open the Visitor and Family Garden at HMP Bullingdon. A joint effort between The Nature Effect, PACT charity, and the prison, this project has completely transformed a once bare and garden into a vibrant, welcoming, and interactive green space.
This new garden has been thoughtfully designed to provide a therapeutic, nature-connected environment for the families of men housed at Bullingdon. It offers a peaceful space where children can play, families can relax and connect outdoors. As part of this initiative, our therapeutic horticulturalists are now delivering regular sessions for families (you can read more about these sessions in our previous blog post).
The grand opening was a fantastic celebration of the completion of the garden. Supporters, and staff came together to mark this milestone. It was a lovely event and we would like to thank everyone who was able to join us on the day, as well as everyone who made the project possible – from the families to fundraisers and volunteers to the staff. We are particularly grateful to Oxfordshire Community Foundation, CAG Oxfordshire, The National Garden Scheme, Tree Council Bicester Retail for their support.
Supporting family wellbeing and building more compassionate environments within the criminal justice system has never been more important! Our next focus is securing the long term stewardship of the garden(s), as well as continuing to support the therapeutic work taking place as we begin work on the garden inside the prison itself with men from the Incentivized Substance Free Living unit there. To find out more, or support the next phase of this project, please visit our justgiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/charndonwellbeinggarden
