Rainbows End

Local Navan Schoolgirl turned Garden Designer is on the Road to Bloom by Bord Bía™

Garden Concept

Grief as a natural life process, is experienced like a rainbow. It does have an end of sorts, but it is sometimes hard to find and never really disappears. Following a path of healing and expressed emotions is important, in the acknowledgement of each stage of the grieving process. For children this journey is incredibly important, as how a child learns to cope with grief, determines their future ability as an adult, to deal with trauma and life upsets. Children’s emotions are every bit as important as adults’ and so adults need to allow them the space to explore their emotions, the security to express them healthily and the love to support them as they go through the natural process of grief. It is the experience of grief which has inspired ‘Rainbow’s End.

The Designer

Twelve-year-old, local schoolgirl, Aliçia Kavanagh from Navan in Co. Meath has created a Postcard Garden for Bloom by Bord Bía™ 2018 called ‘Rainbow’s End’, which she hopes will evoke a conversation allowing children express the full range of their emotions from the positive to the negative. A 6^th class pupil of St. Anne’s Loreto NS and soon to be 1^st year at Beaufort Community College, Aliçia has designed the garden to assist adults envisage how differently the world is viewed through the eyes of a child. This garden reflects the experience of the grieving process through its seven stages, as seen by children, using the colours of the rainbow. It has been four years in the making and Aliçia is very happy to finally have the opportunity to showcase her Postcard Garden design at Bloom by Bord Bía™ over the June Bank Holiday Weekend May 31st - June 4th. Aliçia is also a member of O’Mahony’s U13’s LGFA team, Navan RFC U14’s Premier League Team and 15th Meath Scouts.

Local Inclusion

Aliçia has chosen to highlight the work of Meath Springboard Family Support Services by affiliating herself to the group. This organisation helps to provide the environment and support need by children and their families when experiencing grief due to loss in its many forms. As it is a local organisation to Aliçia’s home in Navan, Co. Meath it was a natural choice for collaboration. Aliçia is delighted that Meath Springboard Family Support Services CLG will accept her donation of Rainbow’s End in its entirety, after Bloom 2018, for the gardens at their newly built, custom designed premises, Mangan House, at Clonmagadden, Navan.

Local Support

Louth Meath Education Training Board have very kindly offered their support to Aliçia and have allowed her to build the garden offsite right in the heart of Navan. In a similarly show of support, local family-run business Boyne Garden Sheds have donated a beautiful pressure-treated cabin shed to Aliçia, for use during the build at Rainbow’s End HQ, as well as a bespoke piece for Rainbow’s End at Bloom. They are delighted that their products will also form part of the donated garden to Meath Springboard Family Support Services CLG. There will be lots of opportunities for other investors to get involved and for members of the public to lend their support and be involved too.

More information about Aliçia and her wonderful design project can be found via the social media pages on Facebook (Rainbow’s End, Navan), Instagram (#RainbowsendatBloom) and Twitter (@RainbowsEndASK).