Nature and Cognitive Stimulation

Today is  session number 12 of our 14 week Cognitive Stimulation and Nature Therapy trial.

We're working with Memory Matters South West, exploring if the addition of nature-based activities and increase access to outdoor environments enhances CST sessions.

CST is a proven therapy for people with mild to moderate dementia.  It follows an established set of themes for a period of 14 weeks and research has shown that it has a beneficial effect on people's cognitive abilities.   So we thought "what would happen if you add our nature-based approaches to a CST course?  Would there be any additional benefits?  Would there be no impact at all?"

We joined forces with Memory Matters South West who run CST sessions, activity clubs,  provide one to one support through their activity workers and offer training in dementia awareness.  So far we've planted seeds,  played outdoor games, created 'sound cards', matched plants with landscapes and orienteered ourselves around an outside environment using objects as clues, pictorial images and maps.

Today's session is about numbers so our nature element is based around locating Fibonacci numbers in plants outdoors.  We'll be searching for spirals - snail shells, curled fern leaves etc - and flower petals numbered 3,5 8 and possibly 13.  The weather's dry so it's a good morning for a nature treasure hunt outdoors!

The course finishes in a couple of weeks and myself and Laura from MMSW will be presenting our activities and findings at this year's UK Dementia Congress in November.  If you're going to be there, come along and say "Hi!" - we love to hear if you've used any of the activities from our website or been inspired by any of the methods/activities we've used in Creative Spaces.

I'll leave you with some Fibonacci in nature pics:

Wendy
Project Manager

From little acorns..........

There has been a lot happening in the project since my last update and I apologise for the lack of entries here.  Time has flown by and much of it has been spent focusing on establishing working relationships with other dementia-related organisations (more on that soon) and starting some dementia-friendly activities to support people in their own communities. 

So let me introduce you to the Clays walking group; here they are.......

.......enjoying various walks, tea stops and each other's company

It all began with Stephen and his wife Teresa who came along to one of our coffee mornings (a social activity we used to raise awareness of the project in the china clay area around St. Austell).  His frustration with his diagnosis was obvious.  Having been a farm worker all his life he suddenly found himself with no purpose and no bike license. His social life and mode of transport had gone but his determination to do as much as possible whilst he still could was very present.  So we organised a walk, just a short one and local to the area and then we followed that with another one and another and slowly others contacted us and joined in.

There are now 10 regulars in the group, including partners and other community members.  They laugh together, accommodate each others walking paces, share home-made 'goodies' and are disappointed if they have to miss a walk.  Stephen has even presented at a recent conference - his first time ever! (again, more on that soon).

You know the old saying "from little acorns big oaks grow"? combine that with a saying by JF Kennedy: "We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch" and I believe that's a good foundation for building sustainability into our project. We take our time to plant the 'acorns'; whether that's establishing working relationships, developing new activities or getting to know our beneficiaries. It's about appreciating and taking time to do all those things so that we create a solid foundation for sustainable outcomes.  We learn more about our beneficiaries and we develop activities that provide the right support and creativity for them.  

The Clays walking group provides us with wonderful images and anecdotes that we can use to encourage other communities and organisations to work with us.  Soon we'll be starting activities in Bodmin and Liskeard and later in the year - Wadebridge.  

There are exciting times ahead, if our 'acorns' are anything to go by!

p.s. don't go too far, there'll be more coming up shortly about our working partnerships and a 'first' for a conference in Cornwall.




Wendy
Creative Spaces Project Manager

A breath of fresh air

I had such a brilliant afternoon last Thursday; out on a walk with a family from the St. Dennis area. Organised as part of the project, we spent an hour wandering through the landscape around the village.  If you've only ever seen images of the china clay country around St. Austell you'd be forgiven for thinking the landscape we walked through was stark, full of grey clay tips and little vegetation.  Far from it!  We had amazing views from above the village, across valleys and fields, out towards the sea; wandered through small country lanes with hedgerows full of grasses and wildflowers and dappled in sunlight and strolled across lush green fields.

The family were initially a little unsure as to what to expect; what would the walk entail? where would we go? who was this strange chatty woman that was leading the group?!  But once I had introduced the children to “Spot Bob”, a game which kept them entertained looking for the tiny pink petals of the Herb Robert flower in the hedgerows and banks, then everyone relaxed into the walk. Occasionally you'd hear "There's Bob!" and "Here's another Bob!".  There were other things to discover on the walk too; stony, dry stream beds, animal water troughs and ripe blackberries also stimulated interest and conversation.

An hour and a half later a group of smiling happy adults and children were enjoying a well earned drink and a piece of cake.

Dany Brookes, Dementia Support Worker for Alzheimer’s Society in Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly was one of the walkers; she described the day:

“It was a lovely opportunity to get out and explore the local community with others.  Chatting about what we saw en route prompted my own childhood memories of similar walks with my grandmother and resurfaced previously dormant snippets of knowledge to share with the rest of the group.  We managed the walk easily considering our varied walking abilities and ages and hope other people will join future walks.  Dementia can impact on a person’s ability to recall memories and knowledge however our natural environment stimulates our senses and can provide an array of memory and conversational prompts. ”

We're looking forward to organising our next walk in the area now; perhaps in the autumn when the scenery will change again.  If you have dementia, or are affected by it and live in the china clay area around St. Austell (or in St. Austell itself) then please do come along and join us for an hour's stroll.

Wendy 

Creative Spaces Project Manager

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

The Fear of Dementia

I recently read an article on the nursingtimes.net website, headlined Dementia 'more feared than cancer' by older patients.  

The article was about a recent poll in which 100 patients over 50 were asked which they feared the most: dementia, cancer, heart disease or diabetes.  The results suggested that two thirds of them were more frightened of dementia.

Could this be something to do with the fact that a cure still seems to be a long way off and we lack the 'we can beat this' attitude that is now more common with a cancer diagnosis?  Or perhaps because the media tends to focus on the negative aspects of dementia, which makes for more sensational headlines, or maybe that many people in society still don't know much about this disease and therefore fear what they do not know? Perhaps it's a little bit of everything.

Whilst  research into a cure continues and early diagnosis is actively promoted, we still have a responsibility to make life as great as possible for people currently living with dementia.  I believe that it's only by creating social opportunities for people with dementia, with their neighbours, young people, shop staff - basically anybody else living and working in their community - that we help to break down social and emotional barriers.  The more people communicate with each other, the more they learn and understand each other and the better and stronger their connections are.  Fear is replaced with acceptance and ignorance with knowledge.

So let's not forget the importance of supporting people affected by dementia using social and creative approaches.  It is in these situations that people are able to communicate with each other through shared experiences and where they feel valued and accepted by others and where others are able to gain greater insight into the impact of dementia on those it affects.

A community trip to Eden Project; participants created
Nature Palettes, tasted food in the Mediterranean Biome
& got to know each other a little better

Wendy

Creative Spaces Project Manager

Come and meet Creative Spaces

We're just about to embark on  a series of 'drop-in' style sessions in and around St. Austell.  It's important for us to be visible in our local communities so that people living with dementia at home, and their carers, become aware of the project and how it can support them to maintain socially active and healthy lives.

It's not always possible for carers and people with dementia to come to our community events; issues around transport and timing can often hinder opportunities to gather information on creative support.  So we're doing what we can to provide more of those opportunities.  You will find us on various days and times in St. Austell library, the Rest 'n' Play Cafe in Roche and the ClayTAWC building in St. Dennis, all throughout June.

If you live in and around St. Austell and are interested in coming along to find out more, you'll find all the information you need on the 'Events' page of this blog. You can always call the office if you have questions, contact details are also on the 'Events' page.

Let us support you to live a more socially active and healthier life.

Wendy

Creative Spaces Project Manager

Creative Spaces in the Community

What else would you do on a wet and windy Saturday but launch your dementia project?

That was us, a week ago, in an empty shop unit in St. Austell........and what a great day we had!

Joined by representatives from Age UK Cornwall and IOS, Memory Matters South West and St. Austell Memory Cafe, we had tables with information, guidance leaflets showcasing what each organisation could offer.  There were free cup cakes  and of course our lovely nature-based activities that people could join in - providing opportunity for conversation.  Our friend Jo, from Hedgerow and Herb, came along with a lovely selection of herb plants to smell, touch and taste and there was music and films going on in the background to help create a friendly atmosphere.

Despite the horrible weather, around 40 people dropped in that day. Most of them were unpaid carers, family members of people diagnosed with dementia, but we also had neighbours looking for information to help their friend and carer living next door and young people dropping in because a grandparent had dementia.  So, in addition to the project information and dementia support advice that was provided, the event turned out to be an interesting reflection of how much dementia affects our communities.

To find out more about our free activity downloads and dementia-related films you can go to our Creative Spaces page on our website HERE.

We'll be doing more localised events and workshops in and around the St. Austell area; helping people living with dementia in more rural areas through our Creative Spaces in the Community Project and then later in the year we'll be in and around Liskeard. As the project progresses it will extend into other areas of Cornwall over the next 4 years.

Cause for Celebration!

More events, more activities, more community engagement, more everything!

It’s so exciting to be able to kick off the new year with great news. Ok, so it's a few weeks in but bear with me.....

New funding from the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund will enable us to build on the success of Creative Spaces project and to support more people living with dementia in isolated communities in Cornwall.  We cannot be more pleased and excited at the Sensory Trust!

Our aptly named Creative Spaces in the Community project will run for 4 years.  During that time we will work directly with older people with dementia, helping them to enhance their physical and mental wellbeing by maintaining an active life within their community. 

We’ll still use successful tried and tested techniques; involving young people in inter-generational activities, making the most of outdoor environments and nature-focused activities.  In addition, service providers such as local libraries and businesses will be involved, helping them to better understand the issues associated with living with dementia at home. For example, a short trip to a library or local shop can easily turn into a miserable or anxious time if support and understanding within the community isn’t there to help prevent issues from arising.  

The project will also allow us to evaluate and demonstrate the positive impact that these and other elements of the project will have on the physical and mental well-being of people living with dementia. 

The project begins in March and we’re looking forward to the journey ahead; to meeting old friends and making new ones, switching on some metaphoric light bulbs, watching new friendships form and working with individuals and organizations who are also passionate about and want to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia, their carers and families.

If you’re not aware of the previous 4 years of work, through the Creative Spaces project then click HERE to follow the link through to the project page where you can find out more, watch films and pick up some free downloads of activity and fact sheets.

A few memories from Creative Spaces

Sensory Christmas ideas

Season's Greetings!

If you find yourself at a loss over the Christmas/New Year holidays why not take time out away from the usual routine and have a go at some of our seasonal activities?  They're ideal for getting all the family involved.

It's not too late to hang some home-made spiced 'razzle dazzle' to the Christmas tree with glittery round oases pinned with chillies and star anise;  hang sliced and dried oranges with bundles of cinnamon too and bring some sensory seasonal smells indoors.

Going out on a walk?  collect twigs, leaves, pine cones and make a Nature Mobile - something the whole family can join in with.  You can add bits and pieces from home too; cinnamon sticks, holly/ivy from the garden, left-over cranberries etc. Whatever you like.

And let's not forget food for the garden birds.  A home-made bird food ladder not only helps the robins and finches etc but adds a splash of colour to your garden too - guaranteed a conversation 'starter'!

You can use up old bits of fruit such as apples and pears and berries, bread, popcorn, bacon rind etc.  Just string them along some garden wire and wrap it around both ends of several twigs as you go along.

There are lots of ideas and activity sheets on our website; just click HERE 

We hope you have a wonderful, creative, enjoyable, sensory-rich Christmas and New Year!



Wendy

In a nutshell

With the doors finally closed on the Creative Spaces project, reflecting on what has been an amazing 4 years is a natural part of the process.

Articles summarising the last year of the project will be forthcoming on our website (an evaluation report for Years 1 – 3 is already on there).  In the meantime it's been useful to ‘download’ project highlights from my own little grey cells.  As you would expect, there’s a lot to tease out and too much to put in this blog, but here are some snippets:

Intergenerational activities
The young people involved had little trouble accepting older people with dementia.  The skills they gained in dementia awareness and communication helped, but it was through the intergenerational activities that they really connected with each other. 


The stories
These were such a powerful element of the project.  For example, there were accounts about family life, friends, growing up, outdoor experiences , jobs and hobbies.  All inspired by  the outdoors and/or nature-based activities. Stories were shared by a master bookbinder, a couple who had lived all around the world and a Cornish Bard, to name but a few from the many people involved. People who discovered an affinity through shared experiences and better understanding and helped to enrich each others lives.   


Supporting carers 
Home carers living in rural areas in particular need improved support to access local groups and organisations.   Our community workshops and events both highlighted and helped address this issue.  We met people who were desperate to find social support and the confidence to try activities that enriched their lives and removed feelings of isolation and depression.  For many, the fortnightly trip to their memory cafe was the only social occasion they had.

So in a nutshell, get creative with dementia care; organise intergenerational activities, make better use of outdoor environments, use natural materials to create meaningful activities and keep costs down, stimulate social interaction for those diagnosed with dementia and their carers.  Trust me, you'll be on to a winner.

   

Wendy

Project Manager

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Creative Carers

It's amazing how creative you can be with materials found around the house and out in the garden, such as twigs, wool, ribbon, leaves and flowers.  Here's a photographic montage of our recent dementia community events that took place at Heartlands in Pool, Launceston Town Hall and the Eden Project.  Hopefully the images will reflect the amazing time that we all had; all down to the wonderful organisations who participated, the support of the venues and the attendance of carers, families, friends, care professionals, people living with dementia and the general public.

         

cress-growing kits - free
to take away

Free Creative Spaces resource
bags for home carers

     

Colourful tables help to attract people to activities

our Nature Palette activity - brimming
with spring flowers, herbs and leaves

         

 

Sue McDermott (Memory Cafe
Network Manager) chats with an
interested couple

People enjoying the
Weaving Tales activity

Trainee nurses engage with
the Nature Mobiles activity

               

Singing for the Brain sessions stimulate
your motor neurons and have your endorphins leaping for joy!

Our Sensory Trees activity table at Eden
looks good enough to eat!

A jumbled picture in our quiz sits behind the Reflections
South West stand..........yes, they're real cakes!

Quizzers post their answers
and hope to win a prize

 

One lovely Weaving Tales ornament made by a gentleman
with a lot of patience!

The Hedgerow and Herbs table full and
evocative...just like an English hedge

Commissioned by Arts for Health, Victoria Bampfield-
Hammond encourages participants to create an amazing,
enormous birds nest.....

..including me

Picture books from the library offer
reminiscence stimulation

We connect so easily through 'making' together

Conversations cross generations

Whatever our age or ability, we are a social species that
loves coming together and interacting in meaningful ways

Organisations who participated included:
Age UK
The Alzheimer's Society
Arts for Health Cornwall
Memory Matters South West
Reflections South West
Memory Cafes Network
Launceston Memory Cafe
Dementia Friendly Communities
Cornwall Care
Time for Change
WRVS
Carers Rights

Their advice and information was invaluable to the families and carers who attended and helped raise awareness among the members of public who dropped in.

Thank you to everyone for making these events worthwhile and a whole lot of fun!

Wendy

Creative Spaces Project Manager

Valuable moments

What do you get if you cross hazel twigs with a ball of plasticine and some knitting wool?  A rather bizarre looking Shaun the sheep?

Actually no; what you get is an afternoon of giggling, creativity and an impromptu game of "Cat's cradle" with members of the Penzance Memory cafe.

Start by dishing out the plasticine. Stand back (a there's no need to light any touch paper) and watch them relax, smile, communicate and engage with each other as they roll, knead and squeeze it.  It seems that rolling it not only warms up the plasticine but warms up people as well!

Now push some short sticks into the plasticine, throw lots of coloured wool into the mix and watch people weave away their anxieties.  Different weaving patterns come into play as people develop their own styles, partnerships build as people work together; sometimes as the weaver sometimes as the person stabilising the twigs until the wool forms a strong bond between them.  For a final touch, add flowers and leaves.

All the while the room buzzes with conversations:
"I remember my mother putting pins in the top of an old cotton reel"
"Oh yes, they call that French Knitting; I remember my grandma showing me how to do that"
"Do you know the cat's cradle?"
"I know we used to do it at school but I can't remember how I did it"
"I'll show you, wait here"

A few minutes later that lady came back with a loop of wool and showed me how to play the Cat's Cradle.

Our activities aren't about the quality of the finished product (if there is one). They're about the journey you take through them; the person you spend that time with, the conversation you had, the things you learned about each other........that is what's important.  If you happen to come away with a lovely object that you've made yourself, that's grand, but that's not where the power to make us feel valued and part of our group/community or society is lurking.  That power is ours in that moment when we share a part of ourselves with someone else, whether through laughter, knowledge, a skill or a memory.

 





Wendy
Creative Spaces Project Manager

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

To Brighton and beyond

The UK Dementia Congress begins in Brighton tomorrow evening and I'll be making my way there to give a presentation on the project on Wednesday afternoon; specifically the use of the poems and their digital representations as methods of evaluation.

Karen Hayes, the poet involved will be there to talk about the process that she uses and we'll also be showing 2 of the films during our session.

The full show reel of all 6 short films will be on view during the lunchtime period.

This is a great opportunity to get the Creative Spaces message to a wider audience and I hope it leads to more conversations with care professionals about the use of outdoor spaces as places to connect people.

I'll let you know how it all went next week.

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