Lights....camera......action!

November's been busy for Creative Spaces.

Our presentation on the project and the Dementia Uncovered films at the Congress went really well.  I wasn't sure what to expect so was truly happy when our presentation, including the two films - Quietness on such a scale and Skin - were well received.  In fact I'm sure there was a definite increase in presentations that focused on outside environments and outdoor-related activities at this conference compared to last year's and that fills me with a lot of hope.

About a week later we had a screening of the films at the Cornish Film Festival in front of an audience that included artists, film makers, educators and professionals in the area of inclusive communities and dementia care. Our panel consisted of myself, Rose from FEAST, a community arts based organisation in Cornwall that funded the project, and 4 of the film makers.  It was deeply moving to see the films on the 'Big Screen' and to hear all the positive comments afterwards.  In fact the feedback was so positive we're looking at entering them into other film festivals; possibly even international.

Talking of which.......

The films have received attention in Canada after a short article was submitted to the Canadian Dementia Knowledge Translation Network (CDKTN).  They included it in their November e-newsletter with a link to the films on YouTube.  Thanks for that CDKTN - very much appreciated!

If you haven't seen the Dementia Uncovered films yet you can view the show reel and/or all six individually HERE. 

Now that we are focusing on supporting home carers and people living with dementia in their own homes we've been working with Memory Cafes around Cornwall in testing out some of our new resources.  The feedback so far has been very positive and carers are now starting to use the activities at home in-between their memory cafe sessions.  The new activities are not yet public but keep an eye on this blog, we'll be letting you know when they are.

A series of larger community events will be held next year in Cornwall where participants will receive free resource packs that will include activities and activity fact sheets to help them at home so it's important that we produce quality resources and that they do benefit and support those living at home with dementia.

Finally, I have news on another film.....this one is about the project itself and is simply called 'Creative Spaces...Dementia, Community and Environment'.  We, and the young people from Penrice College, have been filming on and off for the past 3 years and have put together a film about the processes and activities we used to help Trevarna's residents to re-engage with their community.  At the moment we only have a link from here to our YouTube channel, but shortly you'll be able to watch the film on our website.

So why not  grab a cup of something hot (or not!), a plate of something yummy, put your feet up and enjoy the film?  Click HERE to view.

Trevarna care staff were interviewed by young people
involved in making the film

Back with more updates soon; keep watching!

Wendy
Project Manager

National Lottery Awards - vote now!

There's a mixture of mayhem and jubilation in the office at the moment.  Creative Spaces has been short-listed for a National Lottery Award!  Along with 9 other projects we are in the semi finals for the Best Health  Project category and up for public voting.

This means that from yesterday until midnight on the 22nd July we need your help to get this project through to the final and to have the opportunity to raise awareness on a national scale of all that the project has achieved.

And by that I mean the achievements by everyone involved; the people with dementia, the young people, carers (professional and non-professional), volunteers, community members and health and social care professionals in Cornwall who have all contributed to the success of the project, as well as our combined team of the Sensory Trust and Cornwall Care.


Please support us and help us to highlight this project and the importance of outdoor environments in reconnecting people with dementia with their communities and increasing public understanding.


You can vote through the National Lottery Awards website or phone 0844 836 9705


Thank you for your support; fingers crossed!








Wendy
Creative Spaces Project Manager

Garden community celebrations

The new inclusive garden at Trevarna was officially opened in April.  Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall attended and 'cut' the ribbon to reveal a Welcome sign specifically designed and made for the garden entrance.  He spoke of the need for more community projects such as this one and the value that inter-generational projects have for everyone involved and the communities as a whole.  Speeches were also given by Jane Stoneham, our Sensory Trust Director and Douglas Webb, CEO of Cornwall Care our project partners.

 

Everyone involved in the project had received an invitation in the form of a small box containing an invite, an Acidanthera bulb, some compost and a small pot.  People were asked to plant their bulb and to bring it along on the opening day to plant out in the garden.

Trevarna Manager, Anne & young
people plant their bulbs

community members involved in the
project chat over bulb planting

   

Students from Penrice Community
College have been involved since
Year 1

Trevarna staff and residents, their relatives, students from Penrice Community College and The House Youth Club, contractors, gardeners, community members, other care professionals, management and Trustees from Cornwall Care and Sensory Trust all joined together for an afternoon of bulb planting, drinking tea/wine, eating cake/cream teas, wandering around the garden, chatting and listening to live music by young people from The House. Around 60 - 70 people in total attended and local press were there to capture the afternoon's celebration.

   

staff and residents enjoying their garden together

Young people from The House entertain the guests

community members gather to explore the garden

staff and Ade the gardener enjoy some time off work

everyone together to plant bulbs

Smiles and conversations

Engagement and communication

rain doesn't stop the music

Smiles from Jane, myself and Rose

Cornwall Care management make a mean cup of tea!

                                   
Even the dark grey clouds managed to hold in the rain until all the planting was done; at which point they couldn't hold back any longer and poured their contents onto the garden.  We, fortunately, were indoors or under cover of a marquee at this point.

It was a wonderful afternoon!  I think this was the day staff and residents at Trevarna finally began to feel a sense of ownership of the garden.  You could feel the sense of pride in them and it was lovely to see so many residents outside, hobnobbing with Cornish gentry, chatting with the press and thoroughly enjoying the music provided by the youngsters.  It really was a community event and the start of many more to come.



Wendy
Project Manager

A moment on a bench

A recent addition to the courtyard garden at Trevarna is a beautiful, roofed bench.  It was bought with funds donated by the Firefighters Charity. Di Rees, from the charity's office in Devon, came to Trevarna at the beginning of the year, on the invite of a resident's daughter. We chatted about the project and she was shown the concept plan for the garden (the redevelopment hadn't started at that time).  It grabbed her interest and she was keen to explore how they could support the project through funding a feature or a piece of furniture for the garden. So why not both, we thought?  The lady whose daughter had introduced us  used to love sitting out in her garden and so the obvious choice was a seat that everyone could enjoy. We scouted around whilst the garden was being developed until this lovely seat caught our eye at the Trelawney Garden Centre. Having checked that the people at Trevarna loved it too, we hurried off to Trelawney to buy it where they kindly gave us such a great deal.  It now has pride of place in the courtyard.

Last week I had the opportunity of seeing the pleasure that it was providing.  I was out in the garden with Ernie and Lynn, dead-heading some of the plants and recording some of the conversation taking place. We'd been out for almost an hour and Ernie was getting tired so they sat on the seat for a rest. It was so lovely to see them just relaxing and enjoying being outside - on a surprisingly mild November day - it was a photo opportunity not to be missed.

Most of us are fortunate to remember the quality of a whole range of moments that we experience on any given day.  For people with dementia, it becomes increasingly difficult to string these moments together. Being able to provide moments of value is beneficial and has a positive impact on health and well-being. This bench will provide many such moments for  the residents, staff and visitors at Trevarna; moments of laughter, quiet contemplation, conversation, enjoyment and relaxation.

So a huge "Thank you" to Di Rees and the Firefighters Charity for their support; we hope you love the new garden bench.

  

Wendy
Project Manager

Oranges and lemons

You won't find any reference to orange and lemon slices, trees or cakes here! The title of this post refers to varieties of Thyme planted in the courtyard garden recently as part of a mammoth planting session.

We were joined by several members of staff and residents from Trevarna as well as people from the local community. Despite the weather (fog, drizzling rain, occasional hail - yes, HAIL! thunder and lightning) we all worked hard together to get all the plants in; sustained by cake, biscuits and pasties.

Ernie finally got to plant Chrysanthemums, one of his favourite flowers and ended up being the main photo in a news item in the local paper........again! He's going to be asking for an agent soon.

Even the staff were happy to take 15 minutes out of their day to get their hands dirty and with the doors to the garden remaining open all day residents were able to come outside as and when they wanted, to watch us working, join in or just wander around admiring the new plants.  It was a really satisfying day for everyone involved.

Ernie checks the compost level 

C'mon Ben, just a few more to go in!

Someone had to do the 'Time Warp'
on the Thyme path

Ellie and Vicky finishing off the large bed

Maria, Trevarna's Manager and Gordon
 - smiles all round!

No, not a blurred picture - it really was foggy

One of our lovely community volunteers

Sam being shown how to plant properly - remember to
take it out the pot Sam!

                                                                                                                 

3 tired, muddy but very happy workers

A few days later the plants were joined by a flowering cherry (Prunus 'Shirotae'), an Amalanchier 'Ballerina', two apple trees (a Discovery and a Meridian) and several Boysenberries; providing  the garden with a new feeling of 3D-ness and a stunning look.  Several wheelbarrows full of mulch later and the courtyard garden is almost complete.  Just a few more fruit bushes to go in with the apples!

What a difference!

It's been a real turning point in the project and, with various delays occurring in the garden development this year, the planting sessions have felt like large strides towards its completion.

Thanks to everyone who helped on the day; whether they planted, provided refreshments or turned up to offer support, it was all very much appreciated.  Huge thanks also to all the lovely people at the Duchy Nursery, Bodmin Plant and Herb Nursery and Trelawney Garden Centre for their kind support in providing plants and planters.

Hope you all come back and help with the front garden...that's next!


Wendy
Project Manager

busy, busy, busy!

It's been a busy few weeks in the project.  This is what we've been up to since our last blog:

We've finally started to plant out the beds in the courtyard garden.  We began with a planting session for the local school students who have been involved for the past 2 years.  As well as planting Heucheras in one bed, they decorated large pots and filled them with a whole range of plants including Osteospermums, Begonias, Wallflowers and Stock.  These pots and plants mark the introduction of colour, texture and height in the garden which will be joined by many others as the beds are prepared and planted over the coming weeks.  We will also be adding stand alone raised planters but we won't be planting those - they're for the residents to use for their own gardening interests.

budding artists add colour and memories to the garden

Trevarna staff hosted a summer fete in early August and were joined by young people from The House (a local youth centre). The young people baked cakes beforehand and sold them on their own stall to help the home raise funds. This is a new partnership that my colleague Ellie has developed over the past few months. These young people will take responsibility for looking after an old, underused vegetable plot at Trevarna, where they will grow vegetables to use in collaborative projects with the home.

half an hour later this table was empty!

I've been out around the county visiting more Cornwall Care homes (that's 11 in total now) and chatting with managers and staff about the current and potential use of their outdoor spaces; particularly in the role of engaging residents with the community.  Once the visits are completed in September I'll prepare a report for Cornwall Care which will go to each care home with recommendations on how to use their gardens to engage more with the community.

Trips to garden centres and nurseries are more frequent now that we're into the phrase of purchasing plants for the garden at Trevarna. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it! Several plants have now joined the Heucheras that the local students planted in the prepared bed.  It's beginning to feel like a garden again after so much time spent on the hard landscaping. Which, by the way, is just about finished in the courtyard and work has started in earnest in the front garden, where most of the community events will take place.

planting begins in the courtyard

one point of access up to the garden wall

On August 19th and 20th we held two dementia awareness workshops, with our partners Cornwall Care, for people in the community.  We'll be preparing a report on these workshops soon so I won't go into too much detail for now. The first workshop was for local businesses and service providers whilst the second was aimed at home carers.  Both were extremely fun to do and, looking at the feedback forms, very successful.  One lady emailed us after with this comment:

Please thank everyone for such a great morning last Saturday – it was the best event for information and ideas that we have been to around the issues of dementia care.  Mum and I enjoyed it very much and are so glad we came. Many thanks; we look forward to the next one.

When people take the time to send such a lovely message; it spurs us on to do greater things.

With that in mind, I would like to say "Thank you" to all those people who have been downloading our dementia activity and fact sheets through the Creative Spaces page on our website.  We're delighted that you are interested in using the sheets; it's a sign that we're not only providing the right information but confirms that there is a real need for supportive techniques such as these in dementia care. We hope you enjoy them and we'd be delighted to hear from anyone who has used any of the activities; let us know if using them has had any impact on yourself as well as others. Now go - do greater things!

engage people using scrap books, nature palettes & fortune-tellers 

Wendy Brewin
Creative Spaces Project Manager