Family forages

I think we've all been a little caught off-guard by the change in the weather recently (hopefully summer will return soon!), especially the drop in temperature.  The disappointment of having to open up the jumper drawer or take the coat down off the hook has turned my mind, albeit briefly, to autumn and the shortening days and the need to be thinking about a change of activities in Creative Spaces.

Just because we're less likely to spend time outside on windy, cold, wet days doesn't mean that we should deny ourselves that all-important connection with nature.  There are still many low-cost, fun activities that we can do to enhance someone's (and our own) day.  Some may require a little forward-thinking and planning but not to any great degree.

For example, I've already been pressing colourful flowers and petals to be used in our activities such as Nature Palettes and Memory Postcards.  But there are lots of garden material that I'll be collecting now in preparation for autumnal activities:

• Seed heads, flower petals and leaves can be collected and pressed between sheets of blotting paper weighed down by heavy books. Some seed heads look particularly lovely if hung and dried and then sprayed for use in winter activities such as woven hazel centre-pieces for the Christmas table. 
• Fruit such as blackberries and raspberries and apples can be collected and frozen or dried ready for culinary use (not to mention the fun part of picking berries.....'one in the bag, one for me'!) or in making bird food garlands and mobiles
• Herbs can be picked and hung in bunches to dry then chopped and kept in jars to be used later in sensory activities such as making hanging decorations or pot pourri bags

Top: nuts, fruits & spices are great for festive decorations
Middle: leaves, seeds and dried fruit ready to go
Bottom:  pressing flowers is very therapeutic

The point is, all this gathering in the garden, or on regular walks, encourages conversation. What plants or landscapes will jog memories? Is it a favourite walk and why, or perhaps a new walk with news things to discover?  Will the walk be repeated?  What shall we do with the items gathered? a family activity perhaps?

Gathering materials whilst out and about is an activity in itself; a tool to create moments of enjoyment, social interaction and a sense of purpose which then creates an opportunity for even more of those moments through the activity for which the items were collected.

So get yourself and your loved one out and about this weekend; start collecting things for pressing, freezing or drying and enjoy the moments that you share together.




Wendy
Creative Spaces Project Manager

Nature in Verse

Direct contact with natural things and being outdoors provides, in my opinion, the best way to connect with nature as well as providing natural, sensory spaces for social interaction.  On occasion, however, that's not always possible.  To help in those instances we provide alternative creative ways in which people with dementia and their carers can access nature through less direct contact.  Not as emotionally connecting but strong enough to allow people to socially connect through conversation.

One example is our nature poetry game in which we use the throw of the dice to determine the choice of a nature-based word.  We have been using this approach in various Memory Cafes in Cornwall. In small groups, people take turns throwing the dice until each group has between 5 - 8 words.  Each group is tasked with creating one verse for the whole poem.  They create 5 or 6 lines for their verse based around the selected words.

It is these nature-based words stimulating people to recollect their memories of nature that help make the connections; not just between people and outdoor places but between individuals, because nature-themed memories help create shared experiences and/or interests.  Memories need not be solely associated with learning about someone's past.  They are an introduction to help  us better understand the life of an individual in the present and from there it's just a step to a conversation about future hopes and dreams.......but that's another post on another day!

Back to connecting with nature through verse.   If you've read previous posts you'll have seen the two poems created by the Bude and St. Austell Memory Cafes (see previous post 'Poetry for the Senses' 4th April 2014).  Truro Memory Cafe members recently joined this list of budding bards.  Their poem is below along with the poems created by Bude and St. Austell Memory Cafes.....just to save you from going back to a previous post!

To see how these poems have been created follow this LINK to our short film of the activity on YouTube.

Poetry for the senses

Bude and St. Austell Memory Cafe members have been showing how creative the brain can be, using mental stimulation within the memory 'landscape' that nature can provide.

I ran a Nature's Poetry activity at both cafes and here are the outstanding finished poems.  Members sat in small groups with one person to scribe and each group developed their own verses which were later put together.  I hope you enjoy reading their creative pieces....they should be proud of their work, it's humerous, reminiscent, creative and hopefully inspiring to other dementia support groups/memory cafes or dementia carers who are looking for new ways to support and stimulate people living with dementia.

Wendy

Creative Spaces in the Community Project Manager