St Clare’s Open Gardens 2020 event goes ‘virtual’ in its 26th year

THIS summer, St Clare Hospice’s perennially popular Open Gardens fundraising event is going ‘virtual’ for the first time ever – to ensure the event can still take place amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The Virtual Open Gardens experience will launch on the Hospice’s website on Saturday 11th July and supporters will be able to view the gardens until the end of August.

The Virtual Open Gardens horticultural event will bring the beauty of local gardens into the homes of St Clare supporters – allowing lovers of fauna and flora to explore some of the best-kept green spaces in the Hospice’s catchment area via video walk-through tours on their website. The charity is asking that participants make a donation to the Hospice in return for their virtual experience, helping to raise vital funds to ensure their services for people with life-limiting illnesses across West Essex and East Hertfordshire can continue.

The fundraising event has taken place to raise vital funds for the Hospice since 1994 and this year was targeted to raise £10,000 – enough to fund the entire Patient & Family Support team of counsellors, social workers and a chaplain for over a week.

Virtual Open Gardens event organiser, Dan Bailey, said: “Our Open Gardens event has been a staple of the St Clare summer fundraising events calendar for 25 years, and so despite the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus outbreak, we knew we had to find a way to keep the event running. We are delighted that our local Open Garden supporters, some of whom have been opening their gardens for us every summer for many years, have been ready and raring to embrace the technology needed this year – to make sure the event still goes ahead. They understand that this summer, more than ever, we need the support of local people to ensure we can keep caring for patients on the front line – every donation really does make a difference.”

Outlining this year’s event, Dan Bailey continued, “We are aiming to have around twenty video walk-through tours of beautiful local gardens and green spaces, ready to launch on our dedicated Open Gardens webpage on 11th July – as well as photo galleries and blogs from the gardeners, to bring the experience alive for people. You will have throughout the month of July and August to enjoy these peaceful video tours at your own leisure. This year, more than ever, we can all appreciate the benefits that spending time enjoying the natural world can bring to our mental wellbeing. That’s why we wanted to bring the beauty of local greenery straight to your screens – signed, sealed and delivered! So, sit back, relax and unwind, as you explore a world of calming, local gardens during Virtual Open Gardens 2020.”

Appealing for more gardens to open this year, Dan Bailey said: “If you have been getting more green-fingered than ever during the lockdown, and have a garden to be truly proud of, we would love to hear from you. It doesn’t matter if you have a small cottage garden, or a big, beautiful backyard – we are looking for gardens of all shapes and sizes to show off, and help us raise vital funds!”

Event organisers are still looking for more participants to open their garden ‘virtually’ in aid of the Hospice, by recording a video walk-through tour of their garden.

If you want to find out more about taking part in this year’s Virtual Open Gardens event, visit the Hospice website at stclarehospice.org.uk/open-gardens or email Community Fundraiser, Dan Bailey, on [email protected]

This year’s event is generously sponsored by local logistics firm, Jonen Shipping, and Bishop’s Stortford-based lawnmower manufacturer, Hayter Limited.