As many of you will be aware, Steve Richards, a much loved and long time (30 years) member of staff at Herefordshire Mind, died in July 2020.

Shortly after, a number of Herefordshire Mind members expressed a wish to commemorate Steves life and his work at Mind by turning an unloved part of the garden at Heffernan into a place to feel safe and supported, for peace and healing, and for quiet contemplation - to mirror, in some way, what Steve often gave to Mind members for such a long time.

Many of you will remember Steve with great love and affection. He was a constant at Heffernan House over the years - offering those around him loving kindness, compassion, and a space, within the groups he ran, to relax, feel safe, and share time together.

What we hope to do in the garden:

The area set aside is likely to feature the following:

- it will be a quiet, secluded space for people to relax, to find some calm, to meditate;

- there will be: a simple water feature; two seats (not a bench); a wind chime; a simple stone sculpture with a range of symbols that reflect Steves approach to his life and work: yin yang, Celtic cross, mandala, etc.

- the new Garden Room now in place will also display some of his artwork.

Raising the funds to make it happen:

To raise the funds to carry out the proposed garden work an eight day walk is planned along the Wye Valley Walk from Steves later home in Rhayader to Hereford where he spent most of his life whilst working at Mind.

The walk covers approximately 60 miles in 8 sections and will be covered in 8 non-consecutive days. Adrian Wilcox will be walking all sections and is happy to welcome others to join him if and when they can. Please bear in mind that walkers need to be used to walking in a rural environment and to be competent to deal with all sorts of weather and all sorts of terrain. and also be able to find their own way to and from the start and finish of each section of the walk.

Adrian will do the walk over 8 non-consecutive days, walking one section (anywhere between 6 and 10 miles) each week on a Wednesday from 13th April to 1st June. If interested in joining any section of the walk please contact Herefordshire Mind on 01432 271643 for more information.