Bradley Manor sensory Garden
Donation protected
Bradley Manor residents are fundraising for a “sensory” garden. They would like to raise £10,000 to enhance the gardens of Bradley Manor. A few things they would like is greenhouse (which we have got as a local business has donated), a mans shed kitted out with woodwork for our male residents to build and chill in the shed. Decking for life music entertainment, flowers, shrubs, sensory garden, visual, touch and smell for all our residents to enjoy.
Why help the residents raise the money?
Dementia UK have published the below:
Being involved in gardening can really contribute to a person’s wellbeing. Gardening is on-going and ever-changing., anyone who has a garden will recognise that there is always something to do! Even if you have no garden, and have only limited space (perhaps for a few pots on windowsills) this is an activity that can give great pleasure. It can distract, engage, add to routines and be a focus for physical activity.
Gardening can provide a fantastic opportunity for stimulation of all the senses. There are the sensations of touch – soil, flowers, bark (but mind the thorns!), and perhaps the feel of a gentle wind, of sun or rain. There is visual stimulation – an amazing range of colour and shapes, sunlight, as well as the wildlife a garden can offer. There are the smells of flowers and vegetables, of herbs or of a freshly mown lawn. And there are the sounds – birdsong, insects, and rustle of wind in trees; and of course, there is taste – eating fruit, vegetables, and even edible flowers such as nasturtiums or marigolds.
It may be that someone’s memory difficulties and cognitive disability can get in the way of a whole sense of what is happening in the garden However, much activity for someone who has dementia is in the ‘here and now’, and the enjoyment of sharing a current task. This can be so rewarding in a garden, where the calmness of the surroundings can also lead to developing and sustaining relationships, not only through doing things together but also through the talk that always takes place.
There are many physical benefits – including dexterity skills and broader exercise through potting, planting, digging, sweeping, weeding and pruning – which can lead to reduced agitation and improved sleep.
There are cognitive benefits too – in terms of getting the person to help plan the activities, and perhaps to choose seeds and consider how flowers and vegetables are organised in the garden.
We really want to enhance the lives of the residents living with dementia, and the residents has made this their mission that they get this garden up and running for the residents, the community, the school kids and families.
Wouldn’t it be nice for the residents to potter about in their new sensory garden, listening to the music, seeing the flowers grow, smell the different aromas and touch each flower.
If you can’t donate money, please feel free to drop any gardening equipment to Bradley Manor that you no longer use (ideas of donations, seeds, plant pots, chimes, windmills, soil, plants, gardening equipment, spades, watering cans etc)
Let’s make this dream a reality for the residents.
Why help the residents raise the money?
Dementia UK have published the below:
Being involved in gardening can really contribute to a person’s wellbeing. Gardening is on-going and ever-changing., anyone who has a garden will recognise that there is always something to do! Even if you have no garden, and have only limited space (perhaps for a few pots on windowsills) this is an activity that can give great pleasure. It can distract, engage, add to routines and be a focus for physical activity.
Gardening can provide a fantastic opportunity for stimulation of all the senses. There are the sensations of touch – soil, flowers, bark (but mind the thorns!), and perhaps the feel of a gentle wind, of sun or rain. There is visual stimulation – an amazing range of colour and shapes, sunlight, as well as the wildlife a garden can offer. There are the smells of flowers and vegetables, of herbs or of a freshly mown lawn. And there are the sounds – birdsong, insects, and rustle of wind in trees; and of course, there is taste – eating fruit, vegetables, and even edible flowers such as nasturtiums or marigolds.
It may be that someone’s memory difficulties and cognitive disability can get in the way of a whole sense of what is happening in the garden However, much activity for someone who has dementia is in the ‘here and now’, and the enjoyment of sharing a current task. This can be so rewarding in a garden, where the calmness of the surroundings can also lead to developing and sustaining relationships, not only through doing things together but also through the talk that always takes place.
There are many physical benefits – including dexterity skills and broader exercise through potting, planting, digging, sweeping, weeding and pruning – which can lead to reduced agitation and improved sleep.
There are cognitive benefits too – in terms of getting the person to help plan the activities, and perhaps to choose seeds and consider how flowers and vegetables are organised in the garden.
We really want to enhance the lives of the residents living with dementia, and the residents has made this their mission that they get this garden up and running for the residents, the community, the school kids and families.
Wouldn’t it be nice for the residents to potter about in their new sensory garden, listening to the music, seeing the flowers grow, smell the different aromas and touch each flower.
If you can’t donate money, please feel free to drop any gardening equipment to Bradley Manor that you no longer use (ideas of donations, seeds, plant pots, chimes, windmills, soil, plants, gardening equipment, spades, watering cans etc)
Let’s make this dream a reality for the residents.
Organizer and beneficiary
BRADLEY MANOR Residents
Organizer
Healthcare Ireland
Beneficiary
