An art installation that marks the 98 people who committed suicide in Lincolnshire in one year is opening in Spalding.
The Garden of Hope has been created ‘to spark conversations around mental health and suicide prevention’.
It includes 98 butterflies, one for every person who took their own life in the county during 2024.
It’s touring Lincolnshire throughout the year.
Its installation in the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall will be particularly poignant as it opens on May 11, the start of Mental Health Awareness week.
The artwork has been created by the charity Evelyn’s Butterfly Effect set up by Jack and Jenni Swift whose daughter Evelyn Gibson who died aged 15 in 2022.
Jenni said: “Our aim with this project is to open important conversations about mental health, suicide prevention, and – most importantly – hope.
“Evelyn often shared that she never wanted anyone else to endure what she did – to feel caught in that exhausting battle with their own mind, searching for a way forward.
“She wanted no-one else to feel that pain. Although she is no longer here, those conversations remain at the heart of Evelyn’s Butterfly Effect, guiding everything we do.
“In this Garden of Hope, each butterfly carries a message of comfort and a reminder that change is possible.”
The Garden of Hope will be in Ayscoughfee until May 30 before moving to Burghley House in Stamford.
