A newly-created memorial garden will open at Worcester's Astwood Crematorium and Cemetery next week, coinciding with the National Day of Reflection on 23 March.
The centrepiece of the nature-themed Forget You Not Garden is a stone postbox designed to look like a beehive, and it is intended to act as a unique opportunity to remember those who were lost during the pandemic.
Visitors will be encouraged to write messages to their loved ones on notelets made from recycled paper and infused with wildflower seeds, and then post them into the letterbox. In due course, the notelets will be planted into the garden, allowing the wildflowers to grow and become a lasting memorial.
Councillor Andy Stafford, Chair of Worcester City Council's Environment Committee, said: "Many people have lost loved ones during the pandemic, with some of them being unable to say goodbye as they would have wanted to.
"We hope the new Covid Memorial Garden will be seen as a second chance to say farewell, and to create a unique natural memorial to all those who were lost over the last two very difficult years."
The wildflower-infused notelets can be obtained by visitors at the Crematorium office, or ordered in advance from the Worcester Cemeteries website.
The Forget You Not Garden can be found next to the exit from the Astwood Road cemetery, opposite the First World War Veterans' Memorial. The image of bees is used beyond the hive-style letterbox, with two granite benches standing on legs that look like honeycombs. Insects are a theme reflected through the newly-created environment, with all the species featured being regularly seen in Worcester.
