Walk through the woods at Wildwood Trust and the noise of everyday life starts to fade. Things feel quieter there. Slower somehow.

“There’s a physical calming effect being surrounded by woodland,” says Paul Whitfield, Director General of Wildwood Trust. “You can feel it as soon as you arrive.”

It is a feeling recognised at ellenor too, though in very different surroundings.

Led by ellenor, the trail will bring more than 80 bear sculptures to Dartford and Bluewater from July to September, raising awareness and vital funds for local hospice care. It is the first event of its kind for both the charity and the borough.

For Paul, the reason was clear.

“There’s a real synergy between what we do and what ellenor does,” he says. “A lot of what we do is connecting people with nature.”

“And ellenor is supporting people through some of the most important moments in their lives.”

Wildwood is a conservation charity focused on British wildlife, with sites in Kent and Devon.

“We tell the story of British nature,” Paul explains. “As you walk through the woodland, you come across the animals you know. Badgers, foxes, squirrels. But also, the ones we’re working to bring back, like beavers and pine martens.”

“And then there are the species that once lived here. Bears, lynx. People are often surprised to learn they were once part of Britain’s natural landscape.”

And at the centre of it are the bears themselves.

Wildwood’s sculpture for the trail, Find and Feel the Forest, is inspired by British wildlife and woodland walks.

“Many of the bears at Wildwood have come from very difficult environments,” Paul says. “A lot of our work is about giving them the care, space and enrichment they need.”

One of the most remarkable stories is Boki, a European brown bear rescued as a cub after becoming seriously unwell.

After specialist veterinary treatment, including pioneering surgery carried out on site, Boki recovered well.

Today, visitors to Wildwood can still see Boki and learn more about wildlife and conservation through his story.

For Paul, conservation is also about helping people reconnect with nature.

That sense of connection is what drew Wildwood to ellenor’s Bear Hunt.

“For us, it’s about getting people talking about bears,” Paul says. “But also, being part of something positive that brings people together.”

“It gets our name out to people we might not usually reach but it’s also about supporting an organisation doing important work.”

During the trail, Find and Feel the Forest will sit alongside more than 80 other sculptures across Dartford and Bluewater, each connected to stories about the community and the work of ellenor.

For Wildwood, it’s an extension of what they already do.

For ellenor, the trail is also a way of opening up conversations around hospice care.

For many people, it is still associated only with the very end of life, rather than support from diagnosis onwards, sometimes over many years.

But the reality is closer to home.

ellenor supports people from diagnosis onwards, not just at the end of life but throughout their illness. It helps them manage symptoms, make decisions and live as well as possible, for as long as possible, alongside the people who matter to them.

This summer, those stories won’t sit behind closed doors.

They’ll be out in the open, part of everyday life, where they’ve always belonged.