Handmade Gates Secure A Safe Haven For Bereaved Families in West Yorkshire.

On behalf of the Sunbeam Support Group, we are delighted to announce that the stunning Sunbeam Gates are now in place to secure the Sunbeam Baby Remembrance Garden at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. The wrought iron gates were lovingly hand made by Colin Whittaker at Iron by Design in Steeton, based on designs put together by the Sunbeam Group midwives and Sunbeam Group families. The funding for the Sunbeam Gates has been provided by the Sunbeam Support Group, acquired through kind donations from families and many fundraising efforts.

We would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has been involved in designing and funding this beautiful entry point to the Garden. Special thank yous from ourselves and many other families go out to Colin Whittaker for his care and attention to detail in making the gates, to Steve Marshall (ANHSFT's Gardener) who has been a source of constant inspiration throughout the planning of the Sunbeam Garden as a whole. We can not thank him enough for his tireless support, guidance and hard work on the Sunbeam Garden project. And a very special thank you to Bev Beaumont (ANHSFT's Bereavement Midwife) for her endless communication with Colin Whittaker, for ensuring that every parent who is part of the Sunbeam Group was able to contribute their ideas to the gates, and for working so hard to ensure that the gates to the Sunbeam Garden were a perfect representation of what the Garden means to so many people. There is an incredible team of people working very hard to bring the Sunbeam Garden together, and we are honoured to be a part of that.

One of the conditions of a Tree of Tranquility being placed within Airedale Hospital's grounds, was that the Tree must be secured in a space with locked entry. The production of the Sunbeam Gates was a key factor in Airedale Hospital being approved as the site for the first Tree of Tranquility in England. So much thought has gone into the Sunbeam Garden, from the choices of plants and paving stones, right down to the gate which protects this safe haven for families. The hands and feet represent the little loved ones who are remembered within the Garden's walls. The little elephant represents Aidan's Elephants and the Sunbeam Support Group. And the beautiful vines and leaves represent the Tree of Tranquility and the many families who will gather around it to remember their children. These gates are a true piece of heart work, carefully thought out by those who know and feel their significance.

The Sunbeam Gates are currently in place in the entry way of the Sunbeam Garden. However they will need to be temporarily removed once heavy machinery is needed in the garden to build the raised flower beds and new paths. Some of the paintwork will be given it's final touches when they are removed. They are a welcome and inspiring replacement to the original gates shown below.

The original gates to the space where the Sunbeam Garden is being formed.