Students pictured with their stunning artwork

11 young people have decorated a beautiful mosaic-inlaid wooden arbour for the grounds of Willen Hospice and especially for patients and visitors to enjoy. The arbour was officially presented to the Hospice on Thursday 25th June 2009. A separate group created a beautiful mosaic wall-hanging for the Hospice.

Led by Milton Keynes Council Youth Service, in partnership with Walton High School and Redway School, a group of young people designed a series of mosaics to decorate the outside of the arbour.

Prior to this, two members of the group met with the Chief Executive of Willen Hospice, Paul Hinson, to learn about the work of the Hospice and presented their findings to the rest of the group to share what they had learned. They then set about designing a series of very ornate mosaic pieces, which were used to cover the arbour. Their aim was to produce a series of designs that would have a therapeutic value to both patients and to their visitors. A separate group of young people also created a wall-hanging with a beautiful, meditative design for the enjoyment of patients.

Youth worker and project lead Clare Slattery says:

“The young people involved, who range in age from 14 to 16 years, have worked really hard on the arbour and the wall-hanging in the last eight months and the end results are stunning. We hope that the arbour will give pleasure to the patients and visitors of Willen Hospice for many years.’