Alive Dementia-Friendly Allotment
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The Pitch
Problem statement
There are around 850,000 people with dementia in the UK. 209,600 will develop dementia this year - that’s one every three minutes - with the total projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040. People living with dementia have been significantly impacted by COVID-19, with 82% reporting an increase in their symptoms during lockdown, including memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and agitation or restlessness. The benefits of outdoor social and therapeutic horticulture are well documented, including improvements in emotional state, physical health, verbal expression, memory/attention, wellbeing, independence, self-esteem, social interaction and a sense of belonging. (Greening Dementia, 2013).
Solution
The goal of the project is to improve the wellbeing of people living with dementia and their carers. The allotment will bring them together, provide opportunities to meet regularly, connect with nature, share gardening knowledge, learn new skills, make friends, build confidence, and improve the local environment. The project will enhance participants’ physical and mental health and wellbeing, keep them physically fit and active, improve mobility, mood and self-esteem, provide opportunities to develop peer support networks and reduce the loneliness and isolation experienced due to COVID-19. Funding will be spent on a trained facilitator to support beneficiaries in their gardening activities.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
Alive has over 10 years' experience in reaching and engaging older people with dementia in meaningful activities. Our trained and experienced Social and Therapeutic Horticulture facilitators are expert in supporting people living with dementia to enjoy and reap the benefits of gardening with like-minded people. We provide adaptive gardening equipment and accessible activities to address any barriers of age, ability or mobility. Our award-winning co-production process ensures that activities are co-designed and co-produced by participants themselves to meet their needs and be in line with their interests. Evaluation/feedback from our other community gardening groups demonstrate our success.