Healing Trail
Coming Spring 2025!
The Healing Trail at Hugh Chatham Health represents an opportunity to enrich the hospital community by providing a restorative outdoor space that complements medical care with nature-based healing. This trail will serve as a therapeutic respite for patients, team members and caregivers by leveraging nature’s innate ability to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and alleviate anxiety.
Location
Hugh Chatham Health Campus
180 Parkwood Drive, Elkin, NC 28621
Support the Trail
Donate online at the link above or make checks payable to:
Hugh Chatham Health Foundation
c/o Healing Trail
PO Box 560, 180 Parkwood Drive
Elkin, NC 28621
Additional processing fees will apply when purchased online.
Sponsor a Cove
Coves 1, 4, 6, 9
- Cove #1 – We’ve deemed this the “Forest Bathing Cove”. Along with the dry-stacked retaining wall, a peace post would be added as a feature, in the center with quick tips for tapping into a bit of forest bathing.
- Cove #4 – Deemed “Zen Cove”, this is another rock retaining wall with a raised area in the center of the circle where we put lots of the small, leftover rock chips from the the walls so that people can make cairns. (Perhaps change the types of rock to vary color, etc., for these different dry-stack coves.)
- Cove #6 – This area gets a little more light than others, particularly in late fall-early spring, so it would be the “Garden Cove”. Round stones would be a nice choice for the rock work here, with the option for different spring ephemerals (daffodils, trillium, Virginia blue bells, etc.) in a raised bed in the center of the circle) and shade-tolerant stuff (dwarf irises, ferns (already around), running cedar, etc.) around and within the retaining wall.
- Cove #9 – Playing with the floor design, we would incorporate a dry-stack rock wall, extending the wall into set stones in the main circle to create a spiral design, making this the “Spiral Cove”.
Cove 2
The “Tree Cove” is the one with the tree in the center of it. Possibly hang a natural wind chime in the tree and wood chips rather than granite dust. The 8x8s would work well for this and incorporate a bench using them.
Coves 3, 7
- Cove #3 – The “Rock Cove” is an eye-brow rock wall with a built-in, dry-stack rock bench.
Cove 5, 7
- Cove #7 – “Post Cove” is the one constructed of cut sections of telephone poles. We love the idea of going at least a few deep with these to produce seats at different heights, using the front poles as footrests and the taller back poles as potential backrests. Green poles would be better for this than creosote poles.
Cove 8
- Cove #8 – This site would incorporate large rocks and could be organized into the “Boulder Cove”. We like the idea of these boulders being used as seats, or if not, perhaps incorporate one with a flat side that can work as a table to put in front of the bench.
