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FIRST ‘HEARING GARDEN’ WINS ‘GOLD’ AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE FLOWER SHOW
‘The Hearing Garden designed by Selina Botham is the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show’s first garden to be designed around the importance of hearing and enjoying sounds found in the garden, and has been developed by PC Werth (Widex UK), manufacturers of some of the world’s leading hearing aids and hearing technology.
The project was sponsored by Widex and supported by local hearing aid expert, Richard Moss RHAD, FSHAA, MRSH of the Oxford Hearing Centre, who is also Chairman of the Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals (AIHHP). Richard Moss commented; “With 1 in 6 people in the UK now experiencing some form of hearing impairment, we hope the garden design will inspire people to stop, listen and appreciate the value of their own hearing and the importance of hearing conservation." “Visitors will find out how it is possible to experience gardens on another sensory level by being attuned to the ‘sound-scape’ all around them, by winning this award we hope we will help to raise awareness of why hearing is sometimes the forgotten sense that we take so much for granted." As people’s hearing diminishes, some lose the auditory richness and texture this ‘sound-scape’ provides. However, many hearing impaired people describe enjoying nature’s sounds again – birdsong, leaves rustling in the wind – when they first wear the latest digital hearing aids”.
The Hearing Garden includes some key features such as an interactive ‘Listening Wall’ – where visitors can listen to garden sounds. Its purpose is to help visitors understand their own hearing ability and to celebrate the pleasure it brings them. Using sustainable birch harvested from local common land for the screens and chimes, the Hearing Garden also includes a limestone water feature with sculpted spout falling into a plunge pool. Garden designer, Selina Botham, of ‘Designs for All Seasons’, says she was inspired by the fact that people don’t always appreciate the sounds around them: “Being in a garden, immersed in a full sensory experience is one of the great pleasures of life,” she said. “I'm just so delighted to have won these awards for my first ever show garden design and I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this project including my sponsors Widex and AIHHP". “I hope my design will help people to appreciate and celebrate those every day sounds that are so important in our enjoyment of the world around us.” PC Werth marketing manager Tom Parker comments; We are thrilled that Selina’s innovative approach to our Garden design has helped to raise awareness and recognition for her work, and we are proud that we have all worked together to create the first ever Hearing Garden at Hampton Court”. The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show runs from 8 - 13 July 2008, and is now one’s of the UK’s most prestigious and largest horticultural events. Further information about the show can be found at www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt
Oxford Hearing Centre www.oxfordhearingcentre.co.uk |
