Hull Museums and Phoenix Families CIC have been nominated for the Partnership of the Year Award at the 2026 HEY Smile Awards. The nomination comes for their partnership programme, Tree Babies and Tots.
Tree Babies and Tots (now named Together in Nature) has taken place in the Museums Gardens since 2021, making use of the lovely outdoor spaces and also the museums themselves in wet weather. Unlike most parent and baby or toddler groups, the primary focus of the sessions is on parental mental health whilst also engaging the whole family.
Participants take part in nature-based creative and mindful activities, as well as having time for a drink and chat together. Those taking part have formed strong friendships and the group has become a mainstay of museum life.
The sessions are now continuing under a new name, Together in Nature, and have recently received funding from NHS Health Stars to maintain their work at the museums.
The sessions have also caught the attention of the University of York Family Wellbeing Team who have worked with the team in conducting research which has recently been published. The feedback from participants has been consistently positive with parents bringing their children all the way up to school-age, regularly coming from as far away as Hornsea and families even going on camping trips together.
Esther Hallberg, Access and Inclusion Manager for Hull Museums, said: “We have built a lovely relationship with Louise and Vicky at Phoenix Families CIC, which contributes in a significant way to the welcoming atmosphere of the session.
“The Front of House staff at Streetlife Museum are so supportive of the session and have really bought into the ethos. For the museums, it is also a completely different way of programming our sites, making use of outdoor space in a time when this has become so much more important to people and their wellbeing.
“The sessions themselves are so well planned and ran in such an empathetic and encouraging way which is proven by participants coming back time and time again. We know from observations that these families are meeting at the museums even when the sessions aren’t on and have built up a confidence in visiting our sites independently.”
Louise Savage of Phoenix Families CIC said: “Our partnership with the museums is truly special and we’ve built a strong, collaborative relationship that continues to grow. We feel incredibly privileged to be recognised for the work we’ve achieved together in creating a safe, welcoming space for parents.
“We know that many parents of young children can feel isolated and our aim has always been to offer somewhere they can slow down, reconnect, and feel genuinely supported.”
The other nominees in the Partnership of the Year category are Artlink Hull and Sight Support for SocialEYES Creative Connections and Catzero & Sewell Group.
The HEY Charity Awards Ceremony run by the HEY Smile Foundation will take place on Thursday 21 May. Find out more here.