The Treehouse Project

A lot of modern life is spent inside boxes of one kind or another. Be it in your house, your car, your office or your gym… We all get the sense of being cooped up at times. In those moments, the ability to go outside and just breathe some fresh air can be so important. Walks in the countryside, picnics in the park, bike rides or even just sitting in a pub garden with a pint ‐ it's often those moments outside of our boxes that make life worth living.

About Holy Cross

Holy Cross Hospital in Haslemere is home to 40 patients who are highly dependent and need very skilled medical care and treatment. Their circumstances mean they are unable to spontaneously pop outside to enjoy the feel of the sun warming their skin, the wind in their hair or to inhale the fresh scent of the earth after it has rained. Holy Cross places great importance on providing a homely and welcoming environment for patients and their families and friends. They have a lot of wonderful facilities and make significant efforts to take people out on trips. The hospital is set in beautiful natural woodland but this is currently not wheelchair accessible.

The Treehouse Project

The Treehouse Project aims to provide a wheelchair accessible space in the hillside woodland surrounding the hospital for patients to enjoy with their friends and family. Our vision is for a 15‐metre walk‐way that will lead onto a 4‐metre viewing platform, where people can take a breath of fresh air and enjoy the flora and fauna (including deer) that can be found in the grounds outside Holy Cross.

Benefits of the Treehouse project

The project will provide patients with opportunities to access and benefit from multi‐ sensory stimulation. Birdsong, the movement of trees, shrubs, leaves, dappled shade, scent, glancing rays from the sun as well as a view of the Surrey hills and the distant horizon beyond can all be enjoyed in the natural wooded environment. We believe that the psychological and physical benefits will be immense for those able to use the Treehouse.

Who’s behind the project

We’re a group of friends and family of patients living at Holy Cross. We are raising funds and implementing the project in partnership with the professionals who run the hospital.

Next steps

For this project to go ahead, we need your help! Sponsorship of the project is a vital part of its success.

To that end, our friend Chris Brown completed a 140 kilometre trek in the Arctic in February 2018, enduring -36 degree temperatures and pulling all his own gear with him!

A 2300 kilometre unsupported bike ride from London to Portugal was undertaken over 20 days by Tom Hatton in March 2018.Tom just about coped with breaking his phone, the main stem of his bike snapping and losing a variety of essential items to complete the ride, albeit a lot later than he had planned!

Our friend Hannah Woolston completed a 10k Brighton run in April 2018.

9 year old Joe Elliot rode the Taff Trail in July 2018.

Stass Christopheros and Andrea Collings compled the Three Peaks mountaineering challenge in July 2018, climbing Ben Nevis, Scaffell Pike and Snowdon in under 24 hours.

We ran a sponsored bike ride - the 'Brighton Capel Monster' on 30th June 2018 and over 47 riders raised funds towards the Treehouse Project.

Martin Wainwright completed a scull row from Oxford to London in September 2018.

Robbie, Anna and Jo Warin are completed the Yorkshire 3 peaks on August 7th 2018.

Everyone has done brilliantly well with fundraising but we still haven't raised the amount needed to cover the cost of our ideal design for the project - so if you are able to contribute with a fund‐raising project of your own, that would be amazing. Gigs, parties, cake sales, walks ‐ anything that you feel could support the Treehouse Project will be greatly appreciated. Simply click the link for Support Campaigns on the top right of this page and let’s get moving! If you have any questions regarding how to set up a project of your own then please contact Tom on [email protected]