The Quiet Garden
Friday 20 October 2006 saw the official opening of an important new area in Alton College.
The Quiet Garden has been designed as a peaceful retreat from the hubbub of life at the College: a small oasis of calm where students can take time out from their busy schedules.
Importantly, it is also a place which commemorates the lives of 48 former college students who suffered from haemophilia and who tragically died prematurely as a result of being treated with contaminated blood products in the mid 1980s. A plaque, dedicated to their memory, is an important feature in the garden.
The £30,000 needed to develop the area was raised as a result of a Charity Ball organized two years ago by the Alton College Foundation. The money has been spent on sensitive planting, including two acers and a number of sensory plants, a fountain, benches and sheltered areas.
Peter Doores, College Chaplain and Vicar of St Lawrence Church, Alton dedicated the garden with a blessing to express the hope that the garden will be of value to those who use it to reflect and relax.
"Making sense of life is a challenge we all face but it is especially difficult for young people who are faced with a continuous cacophony of voices all trying to claim their attention. There is a need to shut out all this noise, to be quiet and to try to make sense of things. The Quiet Garden offers such a space". Nicky Branch, Chairman
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