The Friends were delighted to take part in a joint celebration with the Samaritans and the Park Management Team on Saturday 1st April. The event was to celebrate the planting of three silver birch trees and the installation of two new ‘reflection’ benches at the recently created Bulbs for Lives field. It was also to thank everyone who planted the bulbs last October, which have now successfully burst through the grass to create a carpet of colour – first the purple and white crocuses and now the yellow daffodils.
You may recall that last October a large group of volunteers planted ‘bulbs for lives’ – 6221 crocuses and 6221 daffodils which represent the number of people who very sadly took their own lives in 2021.
It’s great to see that the bulbs have flowered successfully, and will reappear each year. The two specially designed benches have been carefully positioned, flanked by three new silver birch trees, next to the spread of flowers, to allow people to sit, talk and reflect.
Refreshments and delicious homemade cakes were provided by the Samaritans, and the Friends organised an ‘Easter egg’ hunt for the children in the Human Nature Garden. The ‘Easter eggs’ were actually pebbles, cleverly painted by the Samaritans, which the children could exchange for a seasonal chocolate, and they were able to take their special pebble home with them. It was very popular and the children had great fun.
On 26 March, our intrepid volunteer litter pickers went, out once again, on a very wet Sunday morning. They did a brilliant job and collected 11 large sacks of rubbish in the one-hour session; the same number of sacks as collected by the Horsham Lions a month earlier.
The Samaritans and Friends of Horsham Park are inviting you to join us on Saturday, 1 April from 11.00-12.30 at the Bulbs for Lives field in Horsham Park. We hope you have already been to admire the beautiful crocus and by then the daffodils should be in full bloom. This thank-you event, especially for everyone who helped to plant the bulbs, is also to participate in the final part of the project to celebrate the Samaritans being in our community for 50 years. That week a beautiful pair of benches will be installed. Carved from a single piece of Sussex oak, the two benches will reflect each other. Made by the Samaritans especially for the bulb field, the idea is that these ‘Reflection Benches’ encourage us to sit and reflect, enjoy the beautiful spring flowers and chat and listen to people enjoying the view too. They include the contact details for the Samaritans to raise awareness of their listening service. Three multi-stemmed birches are also being planted to create a backdrop to the field. There will be refreshments and a treasure hunt for children.
We now have two wonderful walk co-ordinators who have joined us. Rebecca Brazier is our Walk Co-ordinator 
for our Wednesday walks and Ian Dines is our Walk Co-ordinator for Southwater. We are very grateful to have them.