Emma shares this latest news from the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. Ed
Can you grow the tallest sunflower? Or the widest, or most sunflowers on a piece of land? That is the challenge being set by Earl Mountbatten Hospice, as we continue to celebrate our 35th anniversary year in 2017.
The sunflower is widely known as the hospice emblem and it is hoped that the whole community will get behind the initiative, which aims to highlight the extent to which the hospice reaches all corners of the Island.
More than just a building
Although many people think of the hospice as a building, more Islanders are supported in their own homes than in the 16-bed hospice ward. In fact, 600 people are cared for and supported in their own homes, including care homes.
The campaign also emphasises the growth in hospice services over the past 35 years, and the continued growth and innovation into the future.
The sunflower campaign
The hospice is appealing for schools, businesses, landowners and other organisations to support the initiative by planting as many sunflowers as possible over the next few months.
Special hospice sunflower seed packets are now available at our ten hospice shops, for a suggested minimum £1 donation. They will also soon be available at Jubilee Garden Centre, the National Farmers’ Union office in Newport and Isle of Wight Radio.
The list of outlets is expected to grow, and updates will be featured on our website. Any shops or organisations willing to help distribute the seeds are also urged to get in contact.
Anyone wanting to get involved can also grow their own sunflowers, and the more people that get involved the more powerful a symbol of unity will be created across the Island.
Share the progress
Once you’ve got your sunflower seeds, we’d like to follow your progress! Send us photos of every stage of the growing process so we can share them on our website and social media. And enter our competition, which has three categories:
- Tallest sunflower
- Widest sunflower head (not including the petals)
- The most sunflowers to bloom on one piece of land
How to enter
To enter the competition, growers will need to submit photos of themselves standing next to their sunflowers, clearly showing the height and/or width against a measuring tape, or total number of sunflowers grown, by email to [email protected] or by post to Communications, Earl Mountbatten Hospice, Halberry Lane, Newport, Isle of Wight.
The closing date for entries is Friday 15 September 2017, and winners will be announced on Isle of Wight Day, Saturday 23 September 2017. For full terms and conditions visit www.iwhospice.org
Image: Marcel Sigg under CC BY 2.0
