The Courtyard launch project with Hereford Care Homes to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The Courtyard are delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new Creative Ageing project in collaboration with Wye KnotForest School.
The project is being delivered by Rose Sales for residents in two Hereford based care homes over a two-month period.
Each session will take the residents through a combination of Forest School and a series of movement and drama sessions,exploring themes of the Queens Jubilee to stimulate conversation, memories, and wellbeing.
Forest School is an initiative that focuses on nature-based learning, encouraging holistic development and growth from immersion in the outdoors. For this project, participants will be doing some gentle exercise, group work, activities that include the use of fine motor skills, memory games and one to one time.
“My experience so far has been very emotional, I knew it would have a positive impact, but I wasn’t expecting everyone that was involved in the first couple of sessions to be so happy to try something different and get so much out of it.” Says Project Leader, Rose, “One lady in her 90s was not interested at all at the start of the session, by the end she enjoyed it more than anyone else then said thank you to me with a tear in her eyes and a huge smile on her face.”
One resident who took part in the Forest School activities said: “I’ve had a stroke and can only use one side of my body, knowing that I could cut the wood using the loppers with one hand made me feel like I had power again”
The project has come about thanks to funding from Hereford City Council and aims to help alleviate isolation and increase wellbeing through group lead sessions that are both fun and interactive.
This is one of the first known times this type of project has takenplace, and as such will form part of a case study for the future of workshops run in care homes.
As well as the Wye Knot Forest School and arts elements, the workshops will also look at The Queens Platinum Jubilee. The sessions will stimulate conversations and memories amongst the residents of the last 70 years.
Residents will also be making things in their sessions to use in an end of project celebration party, to which they can invite family and friends.
For more information about what The Courtyard can offer older adults, visit courtyard.org.uk.
