Strictly’s Shirley Ballas opens award-winning garden at Alder Hey

Strictly's Shirley Ballas today opened a special 'Urban Foraging Station' at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, after showcasing it at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Shirley Ballas, Strictly Come Dancing Head Judge, said: "I thought the Alder Hey garden was one of the best at Chelsea Flower Show this year."

“I just adore their beautiful work”

"In 2017, when I got the job on Strictly, it was actually my son who said to me, pick some really wonderful charities, and the job gave me a platform. The first one I picked was Alder Hey Hospital because I'm from the North of England, and I just adore their beautiful work."

Shirley Ballas supported Alder Hey Children's Charity in a major fundraising drive for the new building, highlighting that 7 out of 10 children and young people who experience a mental health condition in the UK do not get appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.

“I think it can really lift you”

Fiona Ashcroft, CEO of Alder Hey Children's Charity, said: "I think it can really lift you. Especially being part of a city. We're incredibly lucky we're a really green city; we've got incredible parks, we still need to encourage people to get out and experience the outdoors. I know when I'm in the office all day, going for a walk in the park is just amazing."

Funded by 'Project Giving Back', the garden is the creation of Hugh and Howard Miller. It has been designed to support children's mental and physical health by encouraging engagement with nature through foraging, sharing healthy food, play and relaxing.

Carl Dutton, Mental Health Practitioner, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, said, "So, here we use a forest school to help young people develop their confidence and help them to solve problems work collaboratively with each other and then have a bit of plain form which is really important."

The NHS's five steps to mental wellbeing – connecting with people, being physically active, learning new skills, giving to others and mindfulness - have all been integrated into the garden's design.

Alder Hey’s new mental health inpatient unit ‘Sunflower House’

The garden won a Silver Gilt Award at the Flower Show in May and will now have a permanent home in front of Alder Hey's new mental health inpatient Unit 'Sunflower House' which will open its doors this Autumn. This new unit will enable more children to access the treatment they need when needed.