Salisbury Muddy Boots

The Pitch

Problem statement

Wiltshire is a largely rural county, split into 3 distinct regions by the M4 and the A303, with Salisbury Plain, also adding to the unique challenges of providing services across this huge area. Many people with dementia experience loneliness, but in rural setting they are more vulnerable to social isolation. The number of older people (65+) is higher than average – 21.5% v. 19.4% across England – and will double by 2035. By 2025, an estimated 9,000+ people in Wiltshire will have dementia. In Salisbury alone, over 1,620 people have dementia. There is a real need to help those living with dementia and their carers to break the cycle of isolation and get out into the wider world.

Solution

Being outside is particularly helpful for people with dementia. Taking part in a social group activity is stimulating and uplifting and enhances the wellbeing of people at great risk of loneliness and isolation. Our Salisbury Muddy Boots groups offer a chance to get outdoors and enjoy nature, gardening and associated crafts. The groups give people living with dementia and a family carer the opportunity to interact with the natural environment, gain a sense of achievement and make new friends. Whether it is landscape gardening, working with plants or observing wildlife, everyone takes part at their own pace and some will just enjoy being out of doors in the company of others.

Why are we best placed to deliver?

Alzheimer’s Support is a local, registered charity and the major provider of dementia-specific services across the county. We only work in Wiltshire, but the quality of our work has been recognised at regional and national level. Our award-winning services include Creating Connections – a programme of community-based and owned activities, including singing and exercise groups, art groups, memory cafes and our 3 Muddy Boots projects: • Chippenham. A sensory garden for community projects and at a community farm in North Wiltshire. • Avebury Village Hall: With trips to local gardens and farms. • Salisbury. Meets in a church community garden where group members grow veg for community use.

Focus Areas

Delivery plan

Budget breakdown

Beneficiaries

50 people

Expected impact

• Our Muddy Boots groups are safe, stimulating community environments where members, including family carers, can find supportive bonds with others in similar circumstances, while taking part in a useful, uplifting activity. • Friends and acquaintances often fall away following a diagnosis of dementia and people feel unable to take part in previously enjoyed hobbies and social events. Muddy Boots help rekindle lost skills and enthusiasms for gardening and practical projects. • As a rural county, many of our members are used to working on the land and in rural settings and value the opportunity to reconnect with horticultural settings. Just handlings seedlings and soil can be revitalising to people who have been doing this all their lives but now need extra support. • Working alongside volunteers allows them to pass on expertise and help nurture a love of gardening in younger people.

Track record

Muddy Boots is all about sustainable gardening practice. The activities and projects are based on the experience of our older members who remember the days before intensive farming and horticultural practise. We value and celebrate their knowledge. Salisbury Muddy Boots uses traditional, organic gardening techniques which our older members are familiar with, and the concomitant reduction in carbon emissions and other environmental saving such as packaging. Other projects undertaken include repairing tools, again encouraging sustainability. More broadly, Muddy Boots groups contribute greatly to providing and enhancing the infrastructure of support by building relationships between members including family carers, by modelling good supportive interactions and by enabling people to feel that they can still enjoy the things they always have. The group is often a gateway to further services as dementia develops.

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