Dear Mum Garden

The ‘Dear Mum’ garden is a unique community asset that has been installed in Western Cemetery which is one of Cardiff’s busiest and most diverse cemeteries.

The memorial garden is designed to provide a therapeutic support service for bereaved families in a very special and interactive way and is the first of its kind in the UK.

Features

The garden has characters located around it from a memorial book called ‘Dear Mum’ which is designed to help anyone who has lost a loved one but is particularly aimed at helping children deal with grief and loss.

As the children and their families walk through the garden, they will encounter the characters from the book as the story is retold on inscriptions at each statue.

It is envisioned that the garden will provide a supportive and mindful space allowing visitors the chance to grieve, to talk and to learn about bereavement.

Children and their parents will also be encouraged to spot a number of bees and other mini beasts that will be located in the garden. There is an activity sheet which makes the journey through the story a holistic one where they can learn facts about bees and take part in a ‘waggle dance’ on one of the skipping lanes.

As the walk through the story ends there is the creation station where children can use the paper and crayons provided to make a card and write to their loved one as Dora did in the story.

The garden will not only support parents who have experienced loss but also siblings and the wider community.

Schools are also able to use the garden to teach children in both primary and secondary schools about bereavement and loss as part of their wider curricular work. Community groups and other organisations are also welcome and able to use the garden to assist them in their work with children and families. Please contact Bereavement Services for further information.

Cardiff Council Bereavement Services has worked with Cardiff and Newport Sands to create this special space and there is a willow tree available in the garden for those who have lost a baby and who wish to have a memorial leaf.