We are hoping to raise awareness of the necessity of the current bus route which enables service users, employees and volunteers to reach The Butterfly Garden. In tandem we are raising money to fund a new service or minibus to ensure this charity continues to flourish with all who are affected by it. In order to raise this money we will be completing a sponsored walk, which will mirror the distance the service users will need to complete.

The Butterfly Garden is an educational, therapeutic and recreational project for people of all ages dealing with disablement of any kind. This charity is a lifeline for many people allowing them to achieve any goal that they set their mind to. Although starting out as a Gardening provision with six young autistic students, it has evolved far beyond this. 

Today the provision is both diverse and stimulating. They have volunteers supporting art, music, woodwork and catering as well as the gardening.

Currently the charity is serviced by the Stagecoach F bus but this route will close mid August. The Butterfly Garden's service users rely heavily on the bus in order to reach the garden. On average 15-20 students use the bus facilities to get to their relief. This route also services the airport, Gloucestershire's only municipal air service, which hosts almost 1,000 employees. 

After the closure of the service, students will need to walk a two mile round trip during the course of their day. This is a challenging journey for anyone, especially for those with any kind of disability. Due to a lack of a public footpath the shorter journey is not feasible for these students as it is not safe for travel without transport. 

We will be walking a total of 210 miles, the same distance that service users will cover during the course of an average week without the current bus provision. Each member of our team will be walking 14 miles in order to recreate a single students weekly journey. 

Our main aim is to keep the bus route running. £35 will pay for one bus journey, £70 for a day, £490 will keep the bus running for a week and £2,100 will allow the bus to stay running for a month. 

If the route can not be maintained any money we raise will go towards funding a minibus for the Butterfly Garden so that those affected will continue to benefit from the charity. This would require £15,000.

Better Travel, Better Lives, Butterflies.

Instagram: @ncsbutterfly    http://instagram.com/ncsbutterfly

Snapchat: ncs_butterfly

Butterfly Garden:  http://www.thebutterflygarden.org/default.asp

Petition:  https://www.change.org/p/the-public-save-the-butterfly-garden-bus-route-for-the-students