Horatio's Garden founder named Wiltshire High Sheriff
Dr Olivia Chapple has taken over from Mr Pradeep Bhardwaj
The co-founder of Salisbury-based charity Horatio's Garden has been sworn in as Wiltshire's new high sheriff.
Dr Olivia Chapple has taken over from Mr Pradeep Bhardwaj having made her Declaration and acceptance in a ceremony that dates back to Saxon times.
The ceremony was held at St John the Baptist Church, Bishopstone (near Salisbury) in front of around 100 guests.
Her chosen focus for the year as High Sheriff is charities involved with connecting people to nature.
Dr Chapple is the co-founder and chair of the trustees of Horatio's Garden charity. Horatio was her eldest son.
The charity opened it's first Garden at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury District Hospital in 2012.
She trained in medicine at St Thomas' Hospital in London, before completing postgraduate training at The Royal Free Hospital.
She worked as a general practitioner until 2011. As a GP she was an advocate of the benefits of gardens and gardening and has seen first hand how the natural environment can provide comfort and enhance wellbeing.
Dr Chapple also served as a charity Board Director for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation until 2012 and received a 'Points of Light' award from then Prime Minister, Theresa May, in 2017.
In 2020, she was awarded the Carew Pole Award by the Royal Horticultural Society in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the world of horticulture.
Dr Chapple said: “I feel honoured to have become High Sheriff of Wiltshire and I am really looking forward to the year ahead. It will be a pleasure to meet and thank all the extraordinary people doing wonderful work throughout the county and to discover more about the positive impact of everything they do.”
She added: “As High Sheriff, I also hope to encourage people to connect with nature and embrace spending time outside in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. Spending time in gardens and green spaces is so important, not only for our physical health, but also our mental and spiritual health.”