New accessible garden for Elsie thanks to WellChild and Siemens Mobility volunteers
Elsie and her family now have a safe and accessible garden that they can all enjoy thanks to the hard work of our team and volunteers.
Eight-year-old Elsie loves being outside, however, the family garden wasn’t suitable for her needs. Elsie has Trichothiodystrophy, Global Developmental Delay and is tube fed. Her conditions affect her mobility which means Elsie requires full adult support with all aspects of daily living. Elsie is also photosensitive and suffers burns easily.
For this Helping Hands project, we teamed up with volunteers from Siemens Mobility. Everyone worked incredibly hard and in just two days we created a safe, accessible and stimulating outdoor space for Elsie.
The team began by clearing and levelling the uneven ground. Once levelled we built and fitted a timber sleeper frame and infilled this area with sub-base material which we then compacted before laying artificial grass on top. Above this, we erected an overhanging pergola. A large area of paving stones was also removed and replaced with outdoor soft play mats, making it more comfortable and safer for Elsie. Lastly, we built and painted a mud kitchen and installed solar-powered lighting. These adaptations will enable Elsie to access the garden and spend quality time outside with her family, creating memories.
A huge thank you to Siemens Mobility for making this project for Elsie possible.
"Thank you so much - Elsie loves it!"
