Last month we had the pleasure of meeting up and talking with staff from the Life Changes Trust funded ‘Get Outdoors’ projects. The projects all support people living with dementia and their carers to ‘get outdoors’ in different ways through a wide range of different activities including playing bowls, making ponds and birdfeeders, and spending time outside in woodland.

We were delighted that Evanton Wood Community Company;  The Ecology Centre; Froglife Trust; Sporting Memories Network; NHS Dumfries and Galloway  were able to join us.

The purpose of the session was to explore the things the projects had in common, look at progress towards key outcomes and share ideas – as well as the successes and challenges – they faced.

The projects were making a progress towards three key outcomes.

Reduction in loneliness

“We have created social occasions and activities for everyone to join in with, people living with dementia, family carers and volunteers.”
“It has been fabulous to hear people’s stories and to learn about people as real people and not just people living with dementia.”
“We have had people coming along to volunteer and take part in what we are doing”

Increased physical activity and improved physical and mental well-being

“We have seen such competitive spirit and fun – it’s quite contagious and a pleasure to be part of it”
“Helping people get people physically active again, sometimes without realising it, because it’s a key part of the activity and the fun”
“Its been great to see people enjoying the activities and engaging in what’s going on”

Increased confidence and participation in community

“People say they are feeling useful and part of things by making bird feeders and mini ponds for wildlife”
“It’s been good to see people learning new skills and refreshing old ones”
“We’ve seen people make new friends and rediscover old ones and everyone supporting and encouraging each other”

Some other successes included the impact the projects were having on the partner organisations they were working with – who were becoming more interested in outdoor activities and supporting their service users to be more active outside instead of always offering an indoor service.

We also talked about what things we would do differently, such as:

• Thinking about transport differently – for one rural project transport costs for people and volunteers participating are expensive and difficult, but for another urban based project people wanted to use the bus, reducing costs and increasing independence and mobility
• More time planning and organising around the project and also with partner organisations and clubs around scheduling and raising awareness of the purpose and what is needed to make things work well

Not surprisingly in Scotland, the major challenge the projects faced whilst working outside was the weather!

The projects also talked about the challenge of finding people because people often lack confidence to simply come along to activities or were unsure if the activities for them. Also, for many family members and for service providers offering activities outside for older and frailer people is considered unusual and quite risky. One suggestion was to hold open days and taster sessions for people, families and for service providers to find out more about the activities.

If you would like to know more about the evaluation of the Get Outdoor Projects, please contact Louise Willson louise@otbds.org

This work is supported with funding from the Life Changes Trust. The Trust is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.