{"id":6693,"date":"2024-07-21T21:04:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-21T20:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/medway-maidstone\/?p=6693"},"modified":"2024-08-06T21:16:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T20:16:03","slug":"why-were-the-soroptimists-at-the-inauguration-of-the-suffrage-sensory-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/medway-maidstone\/2024\/07\/21\/why-were-the-soroptimists-at-the-inauguration-of-the-suffrage-sensory-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Why were the Soroptimists at the Inauguration of the Suffrage Sensory Garden?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Saturday 20th July 2024, 6 Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists joined around a hundred supporters and volunteers, gathered on Rochester\u2019s Esplanade for the Dedication Ceremony of the Suffrage Sensory Garden.<!--more-->\u00a0 The event was organised by Friends of Rochester Churchfields and Esplanade (FoRCE) and featured special guests, including author Jennifer Godfrey, Lauren Edwards MP, and Deputy Mayor Cllr Douglas Hamandishe. They formally concluded the project by planting three crab apple trees generously donated by supporters that included 2 by the Soroptimists.<\/p>\n<p>The plan to develop a sensory garden started in January 2020. Over the last 4 years this beautiful garden has been brought to life by FoRCE\u2019s volunteers as a tribute to local non-militant suffragist Vera Conway Gordon. She peacefully campaigned for equality and Votes for Women in the early 1900s and led a group of local pilgrims to walk the \u2018Kentish Pilgrims\u2019 Way\u2019 to London during the Great Pilgrimage of 1913. \u00a0Her dedication and spirit are reflected in the serene and inclusive design of the garden.<\/p>\n<p>Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists have been proud to be associated with this project over the past 4 years. This has involved donating funds for plants, contributing 100\u2019s of hours volunteering and planting a Soroptimist Rose given to us by Regional President Grace Onions for our 75<sup>th<\/sup> Anniversary in the garden.<\/p>\n<p>The Suffrage Sensory Garden has been created to enrich the overall landscape of the Esplanade Park below Rochester Castle as an inclusive area where visitors of all ages and abilities can enjoy a range of educational and recreational sensory experiences.\u00a0 This has been achieved using a combination of the existing landscape, together with pollinator-friendly plants, herbs, and other flora to generate a range of aromas, colours, textures, and sounds to encourage and stimulate the senses.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid grid_id=&#8221;vc_gid:1722975204862-115c7d39-674e-0&#8243; include=&#8221;6695,6697,6696,6698,6694,6699&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Saturday 20th July 2024, 6 Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists joined around a hundred supporters&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":730,"featured_media":6695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[522,525,523,176,526,521,524],"class_list":["post-6693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-club-news","tag-dedication-ceremony","tag-equality-and-votes-for-women","tag-friends-of-rochester-churchfields-and-esplanade-force","tag-medway-and-maidstone-soroptimists","tag-rochesters-esplanade","tag-suffrage-sensory-garden","tag-suffragist-vera-conway-gordon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why were the Soroptimists at the Inauguration of the Suffrage Sensory Garden? | News | Blog | Events | SI Medway and Maidstone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SI Medway and Maidstone : Blog &amp; News : Why were the Soroptimists at the Inauguration of the Suffrage Sensory Garden? : Keep up to date with the latest news, articles and events from the Soroptimists of SI Medway and Maidstone . 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