Schools, nurseries and youth groups have until 11 October to sign up to The Great Tail Trail and become part of the biggest and most colourful event to take place in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) next year. The Great Tail Trail, which opens to the public for eight weeks from 5 April 2025 and raises vital funds for Julia’s House children’s hospice, features giant mermaid tail sculptures decorated with striking designs in popular locations across the three towns.
“The deadline to sign up is fast approaching and there are only a limited number of sculptures available, so we really recommend you register as quickly as possible to secure your very own Tiny Tail,” says Laura Maidment, Public Fundraising Manager for Julia’s House. “Being part of this programme enables young people to work together on a creative project for the wider community and will encourage discussions on important topics linked to the curriculum – from discovering the history of your local area, to inclusion and differences, and the benefits of physical activity and exploring nature. There are so many great reasons to sign up – and lots of fun to be had!”
One of the first schools to sign up was Canford Heath Junior School. “Every year our school council votes for a charity that they’d like to raise money for, and this year it just happened to be Julia’s House. Then we heard about The Great Tail Trail and were determined to raise the £750 that would enable us to get a Tiny Tail,” shared Head Teacher, Mark Wilson. “So far we’ve held a Bake Sale and a Fun Run and we’ve already raised over £3,000.
“Julia’s House is an important charity within our community and as a local school we think it’s really important to support a local charity. We’re running a competition for the pupils to create a design for our tail and we’ve had some fantastic entries already. It’s going to be really tricky to choose a winner! Part of the attraction of this project is that the children can go out and look for their tail on the trail, and then it comes back to us to keep forever. We’re really looking forward to it.”
LV= announced as Learning Programme sponsor
Leading UK life and pensions mutual insurer LV=, and long term supporter of Julia’s House, has just come on board as the sponsor of The Great Tail Trail learning programme. “We’re thrilled that LV= has joined our ‘mer-mazing’ trail as our learning programme sponsor,” says Caroline Attreed, Julia’s House corporate fundraiser. “The LV= team have been great supporters of Julia’s House over many years helping us to deliver our vital care to local families. We’re delighted to be working with them on the learning programme and their support will help us get the whole community involved in what is going to be such a great event in BCP next year. A ‘fin-tastic’ thank you to everyone at LV=!”
“We’re excited to further our support of the Great Tail Trail as sponsor of the learning programme,” says Samantha Preece, Chief Brand and Communications Officer for LV=. “With local schools and community groups getting involved and fundraising for Julia’s House, together we can make a big difference for the children and families it supports. We’re looking forward to seeing the Tiny Tails on display during the trail in 2025.”
A unique creative learning experience
By signing up to the trail’s learning programme, schools and groups will receive their very own Tiny Tail sculpture to design and paint – but with only a limited number of sculptures available they are set to be snapped up quickly. Once decorated, the colourful Tiny Tails will feature on the free art trail alongside 45 giant mermaid tail sculptures which will be painted by professional artists and sponsored by local businesses. The sculptures will be displayed together for one last time at a farewell event at the Bournemouth International Centre from 14-15 June 2025, before the Tiny Tails swim home to their schools or groups to be treasured for years to come.
Participating schools and groups will also be supported with guidance and resources to design their sculpture, engage their young learners in the project and help them fundraise a target amount of £750 for Julia’s House, to help the charity continue its life-changing care for seriously ill children.
There for the community
Julia’s House marked its twentieth anniversary in 2023 and continues to provide a lifeline of specialist care to local families facing the unimaginable sadness that their child may not survive into adulthood.
The mermaid tail sculptures take their inspiration from the Mermaid Suite at the Julia’s House hospice, where round-the-clock care and support is given to families when the worst happens and a child reaches the end of their life. The Care Team works closely with paediatric palliative care specialists and the wider community medical team to support the child and help the whole family.
Julia’s House receives just eight per cent funding from the government and relies heavily on public fundraising, donations and gifts in Wills to carry out its vital service. The Great Tail Trail will help raise funds and awareness so that the charity can continue to provide its lifeline of care to local families.
Schools and groups can sign up to join The Great Tail Trail’s learning programme by visiting www.juliashouse.org/tinytail