"I enjoyed doing these (Nature Palettes) but I don't like things like making scrapbooks; I'm not a gardener though either, I'm more of a sporty person".It struck me that whenever we've talked about outside interests with anyone during the project there's an assumption that we're mainly talking about gardening. Using the 'sporty' lady as an example, I pointed out that her enthusiasm in sporty recreation could be used to engage people with dementia in both outdoor and indoor environments; if she didn't like making scrap-books why put herself and residents through it? "Why not take a football in to work and kick it around the garden with a few residents?" I suggested, "Or get a table-top football game for indoors on days when the weather's not so good". She could also think about engaging residents with a youth group or local school and setting up small regular outdoor 'sporty' sessions at the care home (I'm not suggesting 100m dash...unless they're up for it of course.....but something the two generations can share together).
In actual fact, most older people don't actually want to physically work in a garden; they're quite happy just enjoying the garden and allowing someone else do all the hard work (aren't we all!). For those that do want to be actively involved in caring for the garden that should be a choice for them also; but we should never assume that everyone should do a bit of gardening just because they're outside. The activities we've used within Creative Spaces relate to nature and green space and how people connect with it, only a small minority of training and events (the community planting session and basic horticultural skills for the young people) have been based up gardening.
It all boils down to care staff playing to their own recreational strengths and sharing them with residents and community members who enjoy the same. The activities we share in the project are proven to engage people with outside spaces but we're also actively encouraging care staff to think up new ones or to improve our own activities; encouraging them to think creatively about what people can do to relate to outside spaces. If you're sporty like the lady at yesterday's event, think about how you can use that to engage someone with dementia. If you enjoy astronomy, take your telescope along on a late shift and set up a star-gazing evening; the possibilities are endless.
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| Sensory Flagging adds colour in a drab area |
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| A crafty table for Memory Postcards |
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| We're going to need bigger Nature Palettes next time! |
Project Manager
