Jubilee Garden Appeal

Our appeal aims to improve the quality of life for patients at the DoCSTC by providing a specially designed rehabilitation garden. Suitably adapted for wheelchair access, the Jubilee Garden will encourage rehabilitation and wellbeing through gardening as well as providing an important social area outside the hospital environment for patients and their families.

The Jubilee Garden Appeal needs to raise £100,000.
We can only achieve this with your help.

Why a Garden?

The average length of stay for a patient in the Spinal Centre is nine months. During their rehabilitation phase, most patients are able to move around in their wheelchairs independently but there is a limited range of recreational facilities available to them. When families visit during weekends there are few areas at the Centre where they can spend time together in peaceful and pleasant surroundings.

The Jubilee Garden will be situated adjacent to the Spinal Centre. This multi-sensory garden will:

be wholly accessible to wheelchair users
provide a space for rest and relaxation, in a natural environment

include raised vegetable and herb beds for use by

patients as an integral part of their rehabilitation
allow patients to develop a skill that they can continue when they return home

include a patio for families and staff to enjoy

In addition to growing vegetables and herbs, perennial and annual flowers will be planted along with fruit trees. The produce grown in the garden will be used in cookery sessions as part of the Centre’s occupational therapy programme.


On a recent visit to the Spinal Centre, HRH the Earl of Wessex unveiled a foundation stone for the Jubilee Garden, marking the start of this exciting project. Watch this space for news on progress of this development. We’ll keep you updated with details of the design and plans for how it will be integrated into part of the rehabilitation programme. To make a donation to the appeal click here.		Consultant Spinal Surgeon and SSIT Trustee David Chapple initiated the Jubilee Garden Project. He commented: “We hope that the Jubilee Garden will become a place of sanctuary for patients during their long stay at the Unit and will also serve to help them develop new skills. People with spinal cord injury experience a dramatic change in the way their time is spent. Hobbies, such as gardening, will be an integral part of their rehabilitation process. The ultimate aim of this project is to stimulate a life long interest in gardening which will continue to grow after leaving the unit.”