Crewe Care Village Calls For Votes For Sensory Dementia Garden
Belong Crewe, the Cheshire-based specialist care village, is appealing for votes in a bid to secure funding for a dementia-friendly community garden from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative. Voting is open from 31st October until 13th November and customers can cast their vote in all local Tesco stores.
Plans have been drawn up by award-winning garden designer, Carolyn Hardern, to transform the existing patio and garden into a diverse sensory garden. A number of distinct areas and features will be created in the space, including an orchard, greenhouse, water fountain and a new planting scheme with roses, ornamental grasses and a wildflower meadow to give members of the Belong community opportunities to get involved in gardening and enjoy the sights and sounds of a richer garden throughout the year.
Belong Crewe is one of just three organisations in the region to be shortlisted to receive funding from the initiative. Lee Edwards, Activity Co-ordinator at Belong Crewe, said: “We are delighted to be in the running to receive funding from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, and we hope that people will really get behind the project to make this vision a reality.
“Gardening is a purposeful, therapeutic activity for people living with dementia, as it does not rely on memory. There is very limited dementia-friendly garden space in Crewe, and we know that creating this garden at the village will provide members of the local community, as well as our customers, with a sense of freedom and the opportunity to enjoy the smells, colours, sounds and movements of a well thought-out garden.”
Staff at Belong Crewe also plan to create an activity and memory wall, where pictures can be mounted to prompt reminiscence and create a talking point for customers and visitors to the village.
The initiative, created following a partnership between Tesco and Groundwork, sees grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects.
Lee added: “Two-thirds of customers at Belong Crewe are living with dementia, so the lack of a thought-out garden space is an area for improvement. We also encourage people from the local community to use our facilities and engage with our customers, so we aim to link with local services to ensure that the new garden will be enjoyed by lots of people in the local community, too.”
Voting is open in Tesco stores in Crewe from 31st October to 13th November. Customers can cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store. For more information on the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp
