Essex community builds memorial garden for seven-year-old lost to cancer
A team of little builders from an Essex primary school have come together to create a beautiful memorial garden in honour of a pony-loving seven-year-old.
Florentina Burton tragically lost her life to the high-risk and rare cancer, neuroblastoma.
Pupils of Bocking Primary School teamed up with local construction company MACL to design and build the space as a place of learning and reflection.
Florentina was diagnosed with the aggressive cancer just days before her fourth birthday.
Over the next three and a half years, she endured relentless treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, major surgeries, stem cell and CAR-T cell therapies.
She passed away in November 2024.
The memorial garden will serve as a peaceful outdoor space where children can learn, reflect, and remember Florentina, who would always return to lessons in between bouts of treatment.
Florentina’s family, from Bocking, said: "We can’t thank everyone enough for all the donations of materials and time that has gone into helping make this garden beautiful for a very special little girl who loved school that much she was straight back in as soon as any of her treatments finished."
Construction company MACL, based in Chelmsford, coordinated the build.
Local suppliers and tradespeople donated materials, labour and time to bring the space to life.
MACL’s team worked sensitively on-site around pupils and school hours, inviting the children to get involved painting fences.
“It was an honour to be part of something so meaningful,” said Managing Director of MACL Steve Howe.
“Florentina’s story touched all of us, and we hope this space offers a lasting legacy – a place of peace, reflection and community for generations to come.”
He added: “The garden now stands not only as a tribute to a remarkable child, but as a reminder of the strength of local communities when they come together with compassion and purpose.