Alan Titchmarsh creates sensory oasis garden for blind young brother and sister on ITV's Love your Garden

**Invitation for interviews**

Alan Titchmarsh transforms garden of blind young brother and sister into sensory oasis on ITV’s Love your Garden.

8 August 2013

Last night Alan Titchmarsh’s ITV show Love your Garden featured RLSB nursery children Harvey, 4, and his younger sister Megan, 1, after their garden underwent an incredible makeover to create a sensory haven for the two tots.
Harvey and Megan Webb, together with their parents Louise and Andy, were nominated by RLSB (Royal London Society for Blind People) for the show, which set out to transform the backyards of some very special people in the UK.
Harvey and Megan both have a very rare genetic eye condition called Achromatopsia. They suffer from ‘day blindness,’ and their depth and clarity of vision is also affected. The condition can be described as like looking at a fuzzy black and white TV screen.
The Webbs used to worry about the safety of their largely concrete and unadapted garden, and avoided letting the children play outside. RLSB challenged Love your Garden to create a safe haven for Harvey and Megan, tailoring the space to their unique requirements.
Harvey and Megan both attend RLSB’s specialist nursery in Kent, where they and their parents are supported by experts in the development of vision impaired children. The garden has been designed specifically so that the two tots can play safely and explore. It features a special shaded pergola area, a living wall, sand and water pits and straightened lines. Maggie Bindon, Head of RLSB Early Years Services, featured on the show, advising the team what to consider in terms of sight impairment when planning the garden.

The Love your Garden team clearly relished the challenge of creating a special garden for the Webbs, and during the show Alan commented: “It’s clear that Andy and Louise are determined that their children should have as normal an upbringing as possible. But what’s also clear is that there’s no where outdoors where those children can go and feel free, and yet safe. This garden has got to be that place.”

After days of graft by the Love your Garden team, Alan brought the Webbs back home for the big reveal. On seeing their new garden for the first time, Louise and Andy exclaimed: “Oh my gosh! It’s amazing!”

RLSB’s Maggie Bindon commented: “We’re so delighted that the Webbs have benefited from Alan’s show. Sensory stimulation is crucial to the development of young vision impaired children, so for Andy and Louise to know that Harvey and Megan can come home from the nursery and continue to play, learn and explore in their own garden is absolutely fantastic.”
RLSB’s Early Years programme provides expert support to vision impaired toddlers and their families. They offer a range of specialist services including a nursery, family drop ins and parent support groups. RLSB’s early years services are helping to transform the lives of young blind and partially sighted people like Harvey and Megan across London and the south east.

The Webb family episode is available to watch on ITV Player: https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/love-your-garden/series-4/episode-7

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ENDS


NOTES

Schedule:
The Webb’s episode of Love your Garden aired on Tuesday 6 August at 8pm on ITV, and will be repeated on Sunday 11 August at 12.30pm.

Interviews are available this week with mum Louise and RLSB Early Years expert Maggie Bindon.

To book and interview or for any other press enquiries, please contact Claire Kidman on
0207 808 6114 / claire.kidman@rlsb.org.uk
To find out more about RLSB, the Webb family and the show, people can visit www.rlsb.org.uk/alan.
RLSB (Royal London Society for Blind People) exists to empower blind and partially sighted young people to live life without limits. Through an expert blend of education, sports, creative and developmental services, we help the people we work with live and learn for the life they want. Please see attached media pack for more information about RLSB.
Louise & Andy Webb are the parents of Megan and Harvey, who are both registered blind. Louise is a full time mum who loves looking after the little ones and Andy is a recruitment consultant working in London. They are assisting with an Achromatopsia research study to help find a potential cure for the future.
Megan, 1, and Harvey, 4, both have a very rare genetic eye condition called Achromatopsia. They suffer from ‘day blindness’ as they cannot see in bright light. They only have black, white and grey vision and find it difficult to focus. Harvey and Megan both attend RLSB’s specialist nursery.
Alan Titchmarsh presents ITV’s Love your Garden, where he and his team of gardeners transform the backyards of some very special people.

Maggie Bindon is RLSB’s Head of Early Years, co-ordinating RLSB’s services for blind and partially sighted children of 0-5 years together with their parents and families. Maggie and her team run nurseries, family drop ins and hospital and family support workshops across London and the south east.