Children happy in muck with new outdoor mud kitchen at Derian House

As part of Playforce’s Nature Month, the company selected the Chorley-based hospice to receive a Mud Kitchen, which is designed to help children learn about the outdoor environment, as well as exploring mud and water through play. Made from recycled timber, the equipment includes a sink and hob.Caroline Taylor, communications and marketing manager at Derian House, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected to represent the North West in receiving this Nature Month gift from Playforce. Our Mud Kitchen has arrived and it has been put up in our gardens. The children have already started playing with it and absolutely love it.”

Derian House was nominated by national charity, Together for Short Lives, following its 2018 Children’s Hospice Week. Together for Short Lives is the UK charity for seriously ill children living with life-limiting or terminal conditions that cannot be cured.Myra Johnson, director of communications and engagement at Together for Short Lives, said: “We are here to support and empower children and their families and to build a strong and sustainable children’s palliative care system, so no family is left to cope alone. Together with the UK’s 54 children’s hospices, we provide a lifeline to families, whenever and wherever they need it. “Children’s Hospice Week is our biggest appeal and this year we asked our children and families to share their favourite things to do - playing outside was one of their top five moments. "Playforce’s donations are a lovely way of supporting this and the UK’s children’s hospices.”Emily Northin, director of marketing at Playforce, said: “We work with a number of children’s hospices and have long admired Together for Short Lives for the difference it makes in encouraging support for them. “At Playforce we’re passionate about helping children to enjoy the outdoors and nature. We saw our recent Nature Month as an opportunity to help more children - and those closest to them - to do this, at a time when they need it most. Our Mud Kitchen is perfect for children, families and those caring for them, in helping them to explore the natural world and enjoy being outside.”