Grieving families attended the Covid annual ‘Day of Reflection’ to leave loving messages on the willow tree sculpture at Balm Green Gardens.

Attendees surrounded the sculpture on Sunday March 3 to take part in a minutes silence at 12 noon which was followed by speeches and a craft workshop.

Craig Carrington-Allsopp, a Sheffield resident who lost his mother to Covid, said in his speech: “For many, the suffering is not over. They live with loss, ongoing illness, and mental health issues.”

He added: “Take a moment to think of those people. Step back from the summer holiday that was cancelled, or the birthday party that never happened, we can still make those happen.”

The Lord Mayor of Sheffield encouraged everyone to take part in writing a message on canvas leaves that were provided and hang it on the willow tree sculpture.

The personalised leaves included tributes to lost loved ones and fond memories of lockdown.

At the end of the day, all the canvas leaves were removed from the willow tree sculpture and passed on to the Council’s Sheffield City Archives Team who added these to the city’s existing Covid memorial materials.

There was natural paints and ‘leaf-bashing’ crafts on offer for people to decorate the canvas leaves.

While the event acknowledged the losses and sadness from the Covid pandemic, the speakers also celebrated the sense of community and team work that emerged.

David Bussue, Chief Executive Officer for SACMHA, said in his speech: “We got to see some of the very best of humanity. People who had never volunteered before sought out opportunities to offer help and support to each other.” 

Attendee Paula Mackintosh, an NHS worker from Nethergreen, thought it was important to have the willow tree sculpture to help focus the minds of the community.

Eleanor Rutter, Strategic Lead of Compassionate Sheffield, said in her speech: “Despite all the challenges that they faced and all of the horrible loss, the people of Sheffield brought us through the pandemic.”