Bringing rural memories to life
Regional workshops for delivering successful sensory-rich visits for the elderly and for those with dementia were held throughout England in 2011.
Download the handout, see ideas for making a memory box and listen to farmers' stories on our reminiscing page.
Farmers and nature reserve managers across England have been hosting visits for elderly people as part of 'Let Nature Feed Your Senses'. The feedback from both hosts and visitors has been really positive and stimulated a lot of interest in what makes a quality visit for older people.
Sue Padfield, a host farmer from Church Farm, Somerset, explained that a visitor with dementia was pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter during a visit. The daughter told Sue afterwards, “Mum hasn’t spoken like this for years, it was wonderful to witness. Years ago your husband delivered milk to her and she has always wanted to visit your farm. Today has brought back many happy memories for her and she has a big smile on her face – thank you so much.”
Another resident had great delight in recalling her summer holidays as a child collecting apples for a farmer while another special moment on Billow Farm was when a 76 year old who had given up feeding himself helped himself to the freshly made bread and jam, much to everyone’s surprise!
The workshop agenda
- What is reminiscence: how do we do it and what are the effects
- How to use objects, images, music, song, food, sounds, scents, sayings etc. as starting points to stimulate the recollection of memories
- How to deal with the practicalities of working with elderly people on 'Let Nature Feed Your Senses' visits
- How to design your own multi-sensory reminiscing props
- How to tap into your local networks: where to go for further resources related to hosting activities for older people
Attending the workshop at this time of year will enable you to take full advantage of the forthcoming spring and summer seasons - the perfect time for elderly people to be in the countryside.
“We had a great day at this event at the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading, a mixture of host farmers and people who work with the elderly made for interesting discussions. Those of us who are yet to host a visit from the elderly managed to pick up some helpful tips from those who had and it was great to see everyone and ‘compare notes’ on the project.
I think my favourite part of the day was the reminiscing around the object we had brought in, everyone’s was so personal and yet we could all relate to each experience nonetheless, whether it was Mariella’s plants or Claire’s hoof oil pot! It made me see how this kind of reminiscing could work on one of my visits, there was also other tips such as using music and sounds as part of the visit and having a warm base for a cup of tea and a piece of cake!”
Jo North, Droke Farm, SE
Where were they held?
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South West
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Fri 8th April
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Somerset Rural Life Museum, Chilkwell St, Glastonbury BA6 8DB
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Sue Padfield
01761 232303 / 07792520902
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West Midlands
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Mon 9th May
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Southfields Farm, Coleshill, Birmingham, B46 3EJ
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John Plumb
0785 5450639
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Yorkshire & Humber
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Fri 13th May
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Molescroft Grange Farm, Hull Bridge Road, Beverley, North Humberside, HU17 9RS
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Julian Davies,
01757 268275
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South East
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Mon 16th May
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Museum of English Rural Life, The University of Reading, Redlands Road, Reading, RG1 5EX
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Jo North
01243 811976
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East of England
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Wed 18th May
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East Anglia Museum, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 1DL
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Helen Oldfield
01473 724902
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North West
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Mon 6th June
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Greenheyes Farm, Northwich Road, Stanthorne, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 9JE
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John Alpe
01200 448246
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East Midlands
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Mon 20th June
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Home Farm Screveton, Nottinghamshire, NG13 8JL
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Andy Guy
07738 121883
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North East
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Wed 22nd June
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Beamish MuseumBeamish, County DurhamDH9 0RG
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Helen Renner
01668 213009 / 07974331942
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For further information please contact the relevant regional coordinator. For general enquiries please contact James Taylor, LEAF, 02476413911 or Jen Bartlett, Sensory Trust, 01726 222900.