GreenAcres sponsors St Clare Hospice Lions on the Loose campaign in 2025, and GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks is delighted to announce our sponsorship of this inspiring community art trail. The campaign will help raise vital funds to support people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
At GreenAcres, our mission has always been to provide places of peace, reflection, and connection in nature for those experiencing loss. Likewise, St Clare Hospice shares this deep commitment and delivers compassionate care, dignity, and comfort at life’s most challenging moments. Through this partnership, GreenAcres sponsors St Clare Hospice Lions on the Loose as part of our wider commitment to community, care, and remembrance.
Lions on the Loose features a pride of spectacular, artist-designed lion sculptures across West Essex. Through this trail, the campaign celebrates creativity, community spirit, and the restorative power of nature. These values reflect the heart of everything we do at GreenAcres. Lions symbolise strength, courage, and guardianship. As a result, they provide a powerful emblem for remembrance and shared support throughout life’s journeys.
Christopher Koller, Managing Director at GreenAcres, said:
“We are incredibly proud to support St Clare Hospice through the Lions on the Loose campaign. Both of our organisations understand that moments of beauty, connection, and creativity can offer comfort during times of grief. By bringing art, nature, and community together, Lions on the Loose will inspire hope, spark joy, and raise essential funds for the incredible work St Clare Hospice delivers every day.”
Funds raised through the campaign will directly support St Clare Hospice’s vital services. In turn, this funding will help patients and their loved ones receive expert care, emotional support, and compassion when it matters most.
Through this partnership, GreenAcres is honoured to help create a legacy of kindness, remembrance, and connection. Ultimately, it reminds us that even in difficult times, community and nature can light the way forward.d.

GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks is delighted to announce our sponsorship of the Thames Hospice’s Trunks Across The Thames campaign in 2026 – a vibrant fundraising initiative that will help provide vital care and support for those facing life-limiting illness.
At GreenAcres, our mission has always been to provide a place of peace, reflection, and connection in nature for those who are experiencing loss. Thames Hospice shares this deep commitment to supporting individuals and families in their darkest moments, offering comfort, compassion, and dignity when it matters most.
The Trunks Across The Thames campaign, featuring beautifully decorated elephant sculptures displayed across the region, celebrates creativity, community spirit, and the healing power of nature – values that are at the very heart of what we do. Elephants are known for their strong bonds and enduring memories, making them a powerful symbol for remembrance and the support we give one another through life’s most difficult journeys.
Christopher Koller, Managing Director at GreenAcres, said:
“We are honoured to stand alongside Thames Hospice in this uplifting campaign. Both of our organisations understand that, in times of grief, moments of beauty and connection can provide strength and hope. By bringing art, nature, and community together, Trunks Across The Thames will touch hearts, raise essential funds, and remind us all of the resilience of the human spirit.”
Funds raised through the campaign will directly support Thames Hospice’s essential work, ensuring that patients and their loved ones receive expert care, emotional support, and comfort in a compassionate environment.
Through our partnership, GreenAcres is proud to help create a legacy of kindness, remembrance, and healing for our community – a reminder that even in the most challenging times, nature and togetherness can light the way forward.

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.

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.

GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks is thrilled to announce that two of its parks – GreenAcres Epping Park and GreenAcres Colney Park – were finalists at the AGFD Good Funeral Awards 2025, recognitions that reflect our ongoing commitment to community, connection, and support for those navigating loss.
- GreenAcres Epping Park was shortlisted for Best Natural Burial Ground of the Year and Cemetery of the Year. We are proud to share that Epping Park won Cemetery of the Year 2025 – a well-deserved acknowledgment of its dedication to creating spaces of solace, beauty and remembrance. Tracey Adigun, Park Manager at GreenAcres Epping said: “A huge thank you to those who nominated us – it means so much to me and my team. Winning Cemetery of the Year is a testament to their dedication and the care they show every day. GreenAcres Epping Park is a place of tranquillity where nature offers comfort and remembrance, but our true strength lies in the relationships we’ve built with families, Funeral Directors, hospitals, charities and local businesses. We’re grateful to the AGFD for hosting the Good Funeral Awards and for celebrating the commitment and compassion across our sector.”
- GreenAcres Colney Park was a finalist for Best Funeral Support, in honour of its monthly Bereavement Café, which offers a welcoming community space for those bereaved to share, reflect, and find comfort. Although Colney did not win this year, the nomination itself is a strong recognition of the compassionate support the team provides. Marsha Nelson, Park Manager at GreenAcres Colney said: “I couldn’t be prouder of our incredible team for being named a finalist in the Good Funeral Awards for our Bereavement Support Café. This recognition reflects the compassion, dedication, and care that shines through in everything we do to support those navigating loss. Being acknowledged in this way is a true honour and a testament to the heart of our work.”

Spotlight on Epping Park: Community, Nature & New Growth
GreenAcres Epping Park, a 52-acre venue set in woodland and parkland in Essex, has always taken an active role in serving its community and in shaping its landscape so that it does more than simply provide resting places – it offers natural beauty, reflection, and a place where memories can be both honoured and revisited.
Over the past two years, Epping Park has made significant enhancements to its grounds to deepen that experience of connection:
- The creation of the new Serenity Garden for ash interments provides families with a beautifully designed, peaceful space for remembrance, reflection and ritual.
- Continued landscaping and planting work ensure that the Park grows in harmony with the seasons, becoming ever more rooted as a place people want to visit again and again.
The design ethos – woodland glades, gardens, tranquil pathways – ensures that memorialisation feels personal and natural. It supports people in choosing memorials that reflect their loved one’s character and the grief journey they are on.

These ongoing improvements show how Epping Park is investing in both the natural landscape and in people’s experience of remembrance. The award for Cemetery of the Year recognises not just beauty, but the lived value the Park provides: a place of solace, ritual, memory, and community.
“We are deeply honoured that Epping Park has been named Cemetery of the Year,” said Christopher Koller, Managing Director of GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks. “For us, this win is about more than prestige—it’s about the thousands of moments of comfort, of quiet reflection, of connection that people find here. The enhancements such as the Serenity Garden reflect our belief that nature, ritual, and community are fundamental to helping people live with loss. We’re also so proud of Colney Park’s nomination – its Bereavement Café is a real lifeline and embodies the spirit of what we do.”

About GreenAcres & The Good Funeral Awards
The Good Funeral Awards, run by the Association of Green Funeral Directors, recognise excellence in natural and eco-friendly funeral practices, bereavement support, and memorialisation. These awards celebrate organisations that go beyond the basics to help make the journey of grief more compassionate, personalised and connected. (Visit agfdgoodfuneralawards.co.uk.)
GreenAcres Living Memorial Parks remain committed to providing tranquil, nature-rich memorial spaces, and bereavement support initiatives that allow families to create rituals, share memories, and heal in community.
Event Overview
Christmas can be a challenging time for those dealing with loss. Our Christmas Remembrance Service provides a space to reflect on precious memories.
Please follow the booking process below to secure your spaces at the Epping Park Midday Christmas Remembrance Service — Sunday 14th December at 12pm
Event Overview
Christmas can be a challenging time for those dealing with loss. Our Christmas Remembrance Service provides a space to reflect on precious memories.
Please follow the booking process below to secure your spaces at the Epping Park Afternoon Christmas Remembrance Service — Sunday 7th December at 3pm.
Event Overview
Cafés are held within the beautiful landscapes of our Parks where you can feel the uplifting and healing power of nature around you.
Our Bereavement Cafés are welcoming spaces where the topic of death is not a taboo, but an open and honest conversation. Here, you can say your loved one’s name, share your memories, and talk about your grief with others who truly understand.
For those not ready to share, Bereavement Cafés offer the opportunity to simply listen, to be in the presence of others navigating loss, and to find comfort in knowing you’re not alone.
These gatherings are not about fixing grief or rushing healing – they’re about creating a safe, compassionate community where every experience of loss is respected, and every story matters. Whether you come to talk, listen, or just be, you are warmly welcomed.
All are welcome. Free coffee and cake!