£1.3m lottery cash helps care homes' dementia gardens grow

Lottery cash totalling £1.3m will be spent on transforming the outdoor spaces of 30 care homes into dementia-friendly gardens.

Money from The Big Lottery Fund will be used by charity Learning through Landscapes to give the gardens a facelift, with input from landscape gardeners and residents, to boost the wellbeing of those with dementia.

In a statement the Big Lottery Fund said: 'Although the health benefits of stimulating natural environments are becoming increasingly known, the charity Learning through Landscapes has found that the outdoor spaces at care homes are rarely used, if at all.

'Many care homes have tidy, manicured outdoor spaces that lack the familiar features of gardens at people’s homes or the natural environment in general.'

The 30 care homes will have a variety of features.

The first ten locations announced are:

• Craigbank Care Home (Bupa), Saracen Street, Glasgow.

• Three Cliffs Care Home, Cefn Bryn Lane, Penmaen, South Gower, Swansea.

• Age NI Meadowbank, Donaghaine Rd, Omagh.

• Age UK West Sussex, Town Barn Road, Crawley, West Sussex.

• The Dales Care Home, Main St, Ellenborough, Maryport, Cumbria.

• Age UK Maidstone, The Goodman Centre, Egremont Road, Maidstone, Kent.

• Age UK Manchester, Holmfield Residential Care Home, Darley Avenue, Manchester.

• Edith Moffat House, Albion Road, North Shields, Tyne and Wear.

• Cedar Grove Wellbeing Centre, Cedar Grove, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear.

• Evesham Community Hospital, Waterside, Evesham, Worcestershire.

Juno Hollyhock, executive director at Learning through Landscapes, said: “Access to nature has been shown to reduce anxiety, improve concentration and improve physical mobility.

"Evidence also suggests that outdoor activities can re-ignite latent skills and memories. This project brings together elements such as garden design, staff training and support, client based consultation and local knowledge to create innovative and exciting garden spaces.

"We believe that bringing together the very best in current thinking around designing for people living with dementia will give many more settings the chance to try out low cost solutions in their outdoor spaces in the future.”

The charity intends to replicate a successful pilot at Age UK Herne Bay in Kent.

This includes creating paths that always return to the beginning, improved seating and ‘memory beds’ with familiar flowers which are bright and highly scented.

The Herne Bay pilot also included a seaside area with a beach hut as a reminder of past trips to the coast.

Sue Cliffe, chief officer, Age UK Herne Bay, said: “Since we have made the changes our service users engage so much more with the outdoors, they are now able to go outside on their own and can often be found with a cup of tea watching the wildlife in our new habitat area. We can see for ourselves how being outdoors and in the natural environment helps their health and wellbeing by improving mobility, increasing relaxation and reducing anxiety.”

Learning through Landscapes has the assistance of the firm Groundwork to manage the landscaping work. The company Thrive will train care home staff while Age UK’s dementia expertise will influence project design and implementation and the University of Kent will assess consultations with care homes.