GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks is proud to announce the installation of Help & Hope benches – one in each of our beautiful six woodland and parkland sites – launching during National Grief Awareness Week (2-8 December 2025). 

This initiative, organised nationally by The Good Grief Trust, places special plaques on benches with a QR code that links directly to an umbrella service of over 900 charitable bereavement organisations and support services. 

Why this matters 
Grief support is central to GreenAcres’ mission of providing not just beautiful, natural spaces for remembrance, but an ongoing commitment to the emotional wellbeing of the bereaved. The Help & Hope bench programme demonstrates our belief that reaching out to those living with loss is as important as the ritual of the farewell itself. 

Each bench will be placed in a tranquil, accessible area of our Parks, enabling visitors to sit, reflect, remember – and if needed, to scan the QR code to instantly access guidance, resources and support from The Good Grief Trust. The campaign is part of the Trust’s broader Sit With Hope campaign for 2025, which aims to make bereavement support more visible and available to all.  

GreenAcres’ Commitment to Community 
By launching the Help & Hope benches in all our Parks during National Grief Awareness Week, GreenAcres reaffirms its role as a community partner in the long-term journey of remembrance and support. It reflects our belief that those experiencing loss deserve compassion, connection and a clear route to help – whenever they are ready. 

Details & Call to Action 

  • The benches will be unveiled across all GreenAcres sites between 2 and 8 December 2025. 
  • Each plaque will carry the wording “Help & Hope in one place” alongside the QR code linking to The Good Grief Trust’s hub of services. 
  • Visitors to GreenAcres are invited to sit, reflect and, if they wish, scan the code to find support tailored to their needs. 

 

Quotes 
“Grief is deeply personal, and never ‘one size fits all’ and we are privileged to help amplify the work of The Good Grief Trust, bringing this accessible support into our nature-rich environments where people already come to remember and reflect. The addition of these benches signals that help and hope are closer than many realise – you don’t have to search far when support is part of your everyday surroundings” said Christopher Koller, Managing Director at GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks. 

About GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks 

  • GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks offer a contemporary choice for people’s funerals, burials, cremation, and memorial services across many faiths, supporting diverse communities across 260 acres of carefully managed woodlands, meadowland and grounds. They are committed to nurturing the natural environment to enable more people to live with loss more easily. 
  • They have created six beautiful, natural spaces in British woodlands and landscapes situated in Bucks (Chiltern Park), Norfolk (Colney Park), Essex (Epping Park), Hampshire (Heatherley Park), south east London (Kemnal Park) and Merseyside (Rainford Park). The Group has plans to create new parks, all designed by its sister company Cemetery Development Services (CDS), according to green design philosophy that minimises impact on the environment. 
  • The GreenAcres Group is a private company and allocates a portion of its revenue to an Independent Trust Fund in order to ensure the longevity of all of its parks for generations to come. 
  • GreenAcres is a member of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), Society of Allied Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities (FBCA), and as such is independently assessed by national organisations that monitor the industry standards.