From care home to home care

Whoooooooosh.....that was it; that was the Summer!  The last few months flew past like a non-stop train.  So on to the latest news before we find ourselves celebrating a new year.

National Lottery Awards - Best Health Project
Firstly, a huge "Thank you!" to everyone who voted for the Creative Spaces in the National Lottery Awards this summer. Sadly we were not one of the final three but it was a huge compliment to be shortlisted by a panel of judges and we're very proud of that.  It was a testament to all the hard work that everyone put into the project.

Has Creative Spaces finished?

Well, the Reaching Communities grant has finished and it's amazing to see the overall achievements from the past 3 years. We have engaged over 200 older people with dementia in activities and outdoor environments with over 60 young people.  As a result they have felt less isolated and anxious and become more engaged with their communities, whilst the young people have increased their understanding of dementia and made real friendships with them.

Over 600 carers (professional and non professional) attended workshops, events and presentations and gained more experience of using outdoor environments to support dementia care and social integration. Nearly 350 people from local communities joined in events, activities and day trips; gaining a better understanding of dementia and how people with dementia can play active roles within their community.

Our resources, publications and activity sheets were disseminated out to just under 2000 people - including care professionals, relatives, care volunteers, landscape architects and garden designers as well as other professionals.  Articles written for national publications reached a much wider audience.

Add to that observations and accounts of reduced anxiety and improved sleep in residents; of friendships formed, fears banished, skills discovered and people generally feeling more supported and valued. That kind of impact you can't put a figure on. All in all, 3 years well spent.

But the story is not over..........

Creative Spaces Part II
......it continues in the form of Supporting Change and Impact grants from the Big Lottery; providing a further 12 months funding to take the process and activities used in care homes out into the community to support home carers and people with dementia living at home.

It's a new project but as it's developed from our previous work, we're keeping the name!  New resources are being developed, along with guidance materials for home and community carers.  Community events will take place and a local support network established.




Hollywood here we come!
It's all about camera angles, lighting and story-telling at the moment. There's soon to be a short film about the project itself; covering the garden design, activities and community engagement and we already have a 3 minute film on YouTube, entitled Ernie and Ethan - just two lovely chaps (one aged 91, the other aged 14) talking about their friendship and involvement in the project.  You can view it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1BkUUhC8Bw

Remember our call for applications to produce films from poems? (Dementia Uncovered' post; April 2012).  The 7 commissioned artists have produced 4 films, 2 animations and a digital image for us and we can't wait to show them publicly.  There are no set dates yet but we expect them to be ready by the middle of this month and you'll be able to view them through our website, YouTube, at various community events and conferences as well as this year's Cornwall Film Festival in November.

Watch this space for a red carpet.


And finally...
I'd like to end this post with a tribute to Ernie who passed away this summer at the grand age of 91.  Ernie participated in the project from the beginning.  He loved his chrysanthemums, loved being outdoors and loved the company of others.  He broke into a song about apples at Heligan Gardens and at the Eden Project he regaled us with stories of distilling wine down to pure alcohol as a young man in the army.  It was a pleasure to be in his company and, although he is sadly missed, will always be remembered with great affection every time we see his Chrysanthemums bloom in the garden.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

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

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

Pumpkins!

Creative Spaces celebrated Halloween with a week of all things autumnal and pumpkin related!

On Tuesday a group of staff and residents from Trevarna were joined by local community members, young people, and our own Creative Spaces film crew on a visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. We managed a short walk through the gardens - making up our Nature Palettes as we walked! – before an unexpected and torrential downpour sent us all running for the tea rooms.

Despite the wet weather everyone enjoyed sharing conversations over tea and cake, having a wander round the shop and taking in the fantastic (and undercover!) harvest display …

Pumpkin carving at Trevarna provided welcome respite from a very wet half term break … young people joined residents, care staff and volunteers carving pumpkins in readiness for Saturday’s competition. Templates were provided for those who were stuck for ideas … but most opted to carve ‘free form’ designs, resulting in some rather scary pumpkin faces from the young people, while residents’ designs tended to be a lot friendlier!

It is the physical interaction, the actual ‘hands on’, tactile element that makes this activity so enjoyable … of course the young people loved getting messy with the pumpkin pulp … however, this also meant involving residents as fully as possible, despite understandable concerns about sharp knives and candle flames! Staff at Trevarna were aware of these potential risks, but felt that the benefits gained and quality of experience made small risks worth taking.

An enjoyable and activity-packed week was rounded off with an evening Halloween celebration and pumpkin competition, held at Trevarna – this was our first activity organized in collaboration with the newly formed Trevarna Community Activity group and it was definitely a success!

Wendy and I got carried away in the Halloween aisle at Asda, filling our trolleys with spooks and ghouls, spider’s webs and fairy lights shaped like bats and pumpkins to decorate the garden room, along with a very special gargoyle water feature for the garden itself! Trevarna staff made a delicious soup with the leftover pumpkin pulp, and there were plenty of home-baked Halloween themed cakes and cookies for those with a sweet tooth.

The pumpkins were lit in the garden and St Austell Cllr. Jill Trewhella came along to help with the judging and prize giving. Residents, young people and staff were thrilled to win prizes for carving the scariest, ugliest, happiest and most eye-catching pumpkin.

Importantly, these fun, interactive and creative activities also helped people with dementia to link to time and season, and provided opportunities for meaningful involvement and social interaction, bringing the local community into the care home environment, as well as taking residents out.

Now, just a few weeks left to plan for our Christmas event ...

Beryl

One poignant aspect of this project has always been an awareness that not all of the wonderful people who've been involved may be there with us to celebrate when it finishes. I'd like to introduce one such lady who sadly passed away recently; the fun-loving, witty, gracious and genteel Beryl.

Beryl arrives for a garden activity

Sadly Beryl died recently and even though we in the Sensory Trust knew her for only two years, her imprint on our lives was deep enough for us to feel the sadness too.  With thanks to the kind permission of her family, this is our tribute to Beryl.

Beryl was a 'project pioneer', joining Creative Spaces at the very beginning in September 2009, at the tender young age of 92.  She rarely missed the opportunity to join in an activity; 'pimping' her badge in the very first activity, making 'Memory Postcards', carving pumpkins, creating a 'Design Card' for the garden to name a few. Through these activities she became a familiar face to many of the young people also involved and it was a pleasure to see the mutual respect and kindness that she shared with them.

Beryl also loved coming out on our visits and enjoyed trips to the Eden Project, where we chatted about the human impact on the environment;  Trerice gardens where her pumpkin-carving skills were judged alongside others; the China Clay Museum and the local fire station. She always had something lovely to say at the end of each visit.  I remember her leaving the Eden Project saying "It's days like this that make life worth living".

Friendships can start with a badge and a feather or two!

I regret that, due to various delays, we were unable to complete the garden in time for the summer and for Beryl to enjoy spending some time in it. But that is quickly overshadowed by remembering that, in the bigger picture, she helped to bring Trevarna closer to its community through her involvement. Everyone in the project got to know and like Beryl very quickly.  The local school students were particularly fond of her and would always ask if she was going to be joining in.  She was intelligent and eloquent with a hint of impishness about her; it was easy to be fond of her and want to spend time in her company.

Chatting with staff at the Eden Project

Planting seeds ready for the garden

 
There will always be a connection with Beryl through the garden. Her family are donating a bird bath and table because she loved birds so much. They will look beautiful situated in the garden and I know I'll think of Beryl whenever I see them. But in addition to that I think there will be other, much deeper connections that will form through our memories of her. Memories of Beryl that will, in a way, link us to the garden through her.

For me, it will be of her arriving at an outdoor activity with a smile and a wave and a piece of material sitting around her neck like a Duchess's fur stole. I swear you could almost hear 'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' by Handel playing in the background!

Bless you Beryl, and thank you.