A Field of Flowers that grows one story at a time: Southeast Ohio partners honor families touched by childhood cancer

Ohio University’s Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact, Hideaway on the Hocking, Turn It Gold and Passion Works Studio are cultivating a living landscape of handcrafted aluminum flowers to honor families touched by childhood cancers. The first flower was made in honor of five-year old Gibson Weaver, fondly called Gibs by his friends and family. 

Weaver lives in Albany, Ohio, and attends Kindergarten at the Ohio School for the Blind. He loves playground swings and Llama Llama books. He is also navigating life with an inoperable optic pathway tumor. He joined his family and members of the OHIO Soccer team at Hideaway on the Hocking on Oct.17, to help shape the first bloom in the Field of Forever Flowers. His flower, cut from reclaimed aluminum and painted by many hands, will stand permanently in a field meant to honor children and families whose lives have been changed by childhood cancers. 

For now, the field begins with a single flower and a vision of what might grow. 

The field grows out of a decade-long partnership among the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact, Turn it Gold and Passion Works Studio. Together, they have worked to widen the story of cancer survivorship to include children and the long-term effects of treatment that can follow them for years. Harter served as lead producer of the PBS documentary "Realistically Ever After: A Turn It Gold Movement," which challenges the idea that cancer ends once treatment does. The Field of Forever Flowers carries that work into the landscape itself, in keeping with the institute's mission to weave meaningful stories with those who live them and to use narrative to spark collective action.

"For 10 years, the Storytelling Institute has partnered with Turn it Gold and Passion Works to flip the script on what cancer survivorship looks like, making room for children and for the realities that continue long after treatment ends," said Dr. Lynn Harter, professor and co-director of the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact. "We are grateful to now join hands with Cindy and Brent Hayes, who have spent years walking alongside families touched by childhood cancer. The Field of Forever Flowers grows from a shared belief that beauty can emerge amid hardship, and we can help one another handle hard better when we do so in community.”

For Hideaway co-founder Brent Hayes, the work is personal. Hayes is a childhood cancer survivor.

"Sixty-two years ago, my husband, Brent, was dealt a childhood cancer diagnosis that no one…no one… had ever survived," said Cindy Hayes, co-owner of Hideaway on the Hocking. "Fast forward a lifetime…my husband is here, Turn It Gold is literally on our doorstep at Hideaway on the Hocking and we've been invited to be part of this healing initiative. We could not be more honored to have the opportunity to support and restore those with similar diagnoses through the unimaginable. With the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact at the helm and supported by Turn it Gold and Passion Works, the sky's the limit!"

Worldwide, more than 400,000 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 are diagnosed with cancer each year, according to the World Health Organization. Treatment may end, but the emotional, physical, relational and financial effects often last for years.

"Our son's survival of childhood cancer taught us that healing is about more than overcoming a diagnosis," said Angela Dina, co-founder and president of the non-profit Turn It Gold. "It's about finding peace, hope and joy in the midst of the hardest moments. We believe every family facing childhood cancer deserves a place to pause, reconnect, and feel supported. Through this partnership, we hope to create space for healing and plant reminders that even after the darkest seasons, hope can bloom."

The Field of Forever Flowers is taking root within the natural beauty of Hideaway on the Hocking, a 400-acre sanctuary nestled along the Hocking River in southeast Ohio. 

 Surrounded by trails, trees and the rhythms of nature, the field is being designed as a place to wander, pause and reflect. In this landscape, stories will be encountered, shared and carried forward.

Among the trees and changing seasons, colorful metal flowers will offer enduring reminders of the lives and stories they represent. Each gold flower is crafted in partnership with Passion Works Studio, a non-profit collaborative making space for people of all abilities. The flowers are built from reclaimed aluminum newspaper printing plates and painted together. Once planted, they bloom through every season and never fade.

Families affected by childhood cancer, and community members who want to honor them, will take part in making flowers, as the OHIO Soccer team did at the first making.

"This experience meant so much to me because it reminded me why I want to become a nurse in the first place," said Rylee Mensel, a junior nursing student and member of the OHIO Soccer team who expects to graduate in May 2028. "Being a student-athlete has taught me the importance of showing up for others, being part of something bigger than myself, and finding ways to make a difference both on and off the field. As someone who hopes to pursue pediatric oncology nursing, I want to be the person who brings comfort, support, and a little light to children and families during some of their most difficult days. Being able to do that now, even as a student, was incredibly special and reinforced the kind of nurse and person I hope to become."

For Aaron Rodgers, head coach of the OHIO Soccer team, this work is meaningful as well. 

“Participating in Turn It Gold reminds our student-athletes that their impact reaches beyond the field. It builds empathy, inspires gratitude, and shows them the power they have to bring hope to children and families facing childhood cancer.” 

The field will celebrate children living with and beyond cancer, recognize survivors and their families and remember children who have died. Designed as a place for both quiet reflection and shared storytelling, it will include benches where visitors can pause among the flowers and a story station offering journals, coloring pages, and invitations to write, draw, or reflect on their experiences. QR codes will connect visitors to stories shared by participating children and families through photographs, written reflections, and digital narratives. Coloring pages featuring artwork by children touched by cancer, including Weaver, will offer another way for visitors of all ages to engage with the field.

Together, these elements invite visitors not only to witness the stories of others, but also to reflect on the stories they carry and the ways we care for one another.

"This project feels like a full-circle moment for me," said Matt Thomson, director at Hideaway on the Hocking. "After years at Ohio University and years on the board of Passion Works Studio, it's incredibly meaningful to bring those connections together through my work at Hideaway on the Hocking. But what makes this collaboration truly special is its purpose. With OHIO student-athletes helping create these golden flowers, we're building something that represents far more than art. We're creating an intentional permanent reminder that families facing childhood cancer are surrounded by a community that cares." 

What began with one flower, shaped by the hands of Weaver, his family and members of the OHIO Soccer team will grow into the Field of Forever Flowers. The field will continue to take shape in the months ahead as families, artists, students and community members come together to create new blooms and share stories. A dedication of the field is planned for Aug. 6, 2027.

Visitors to Hideaway on the Hocking can also explore the Turn It Gold with Passion collection at Hideaway's General Store, featuring artwork created by Passion Works artists.