Another award for Memory cafe

Haydon Wick Parish Council has announced that its Memory Café has won a third award.

The accolade focuses on the outdoor Sensory Garden, created within the council’s Leisure Garden Site.

The certificate was awarded from the BBC One Show and Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) in the category of 'Growing Together Award for Community Gardening.'

The council says it is a tribute to the Memory Café co-ordinator and Parks and open spaces team.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The parish council is very proud of its Memory Café, and in scoring a hat trick of awards in the last couple of years, those being the Community First 'Most Innovative New Project' award, the Haydon Wick Heroes 'Best Community Group' award and now this latest award 'Growing Together Award for Community Gardening'.

The idea behind the Sensory Garden is to offer a safe, calm and relaxing space to the residents of the Memory Café and their companions, to enable them to sit and relax outdoors. 

The success of the Sensory Garden has been complemented by several plot holders of the Leisure Garden site donating upcycled components including old sleepers, a timber shed, a compost bin and fruit trees.

There has also been generosity from several local businesses with donations of wooden pallets, paving slabs, bulbs and decorative stones.

The Sensory Garden will enable the residents of the Memory Café living with dementia and their companions to come sit and enjoy a safe environment to chat with others, potter, hand weed and plant. The specially designed raised beds make it easier to access the plants and save any unnecessary bending and lifting.

A small group of Memory Café residents who love gardening but are now unable to work on their own gardens, have got together in maintaining this special place. The benefits of having access to a safe outdoor space has a positive impact on all those who visit.

To find out more please email the Memory Cafe Co-Ordinator Jo at [email protected]