City of Trees have been providing dementia friendly walks in Bolton with the Woodland Trust.
These walks are currently on hold due to Covid19. However, to help people stay connected they have created a newsletter for the members of our walking group, which is also available for anyone who is living with dementia and their friends and families.
What is it?
A fortnightly email newsletter to bring a bit of nature into the home and a crafty activity to keep minds busy – most importantly we want to keep up the fun and social contact we enjoy so much on our walks.
What is involved?
Each fortnight there is a different themed newsletter to keep people connected to the outdoors and to their favourite places on the walks around the Smithills Estate, Bolton. We will keep you up to date with nature news & sightings from the Smithills Estate including superb videos from Russ Headley about what birds to identify in your garden, plus photos from our volunteers.
People can also join in with online activity videos, showing how to create great craft items to keep our minds bright and busy. Including outdoor sound maps, leaf art, bee origami, bird feeders and more!
These newsletter are for anyone who is living with dementia and their friends and families – not just people who previously attended the walks.
The walks have had regular feedback surveys and we have received fantastic comments back when asking what people enjoy about the walks, such as:
‘‘Meeting new people. Fresh air! The scenery. Good mix or walkers and volunteers. People could go at their own pace.’’
‘‘Memories. Outside. Adventure. Company’’.
Want to get your loved one involved?
These tremendously successful walks are aimed at people living with a diagnosis of a dementia and designed to include the people who support them. With the goal to allowing them to walk and enjoy each other’s company as friends/family as opposed to carer & cared for.