Elderly residents at a dementia care home in Yeovil have been doing their bit for the environment by employing for their craft activities items which would otherwise have been recycled.
Gary Shackle, activities coordinator at Chestnut Lodge, said: “My colleagues and I, as well as many of our residents, try hard to minimise our impact on the environment.
“So one of our recent craft sessions involved residents working together on an amazing ‘scavenger’ collage.
“The resulting image of a zebra (pictured) is genuinely beautiful, although what it’s made from is a collection of old broken or unused bits and pieces such as bottle tops and ring pulls.
“Residents wittily named the zebra Winnie, and insisted she should have pride of place on the wall in our newly refurbished lounge.
“The task of creating her, and now admiring her, is giving our ladies and gents such pleasure.”
Another recent creation at Chestnut Lodge was a friendship wheel, created from an authentic bicycle wheel that had been discarded.
Gary Shackle explained: “Fostering friendships among the people we support is an important focus for my team, and our residents were very receptive to the idea of creating a friendship wheel, and intrigued by the idea of using a proper wheel for making it.
“We cleaned the wheel thoroughly and then everyone contributed in their own way to the decorations that now adorn it.
“Doing this project together turned out to be a wonderful way to celebrate our Chestnut Lodge community.”
Chestnut Lodge, which is run by award-winning care providers Camelot Care, has one of the largest activities teams of any dementia care home in Somerset, with five full-time members each providing a distinct skill set, including beauty, fitness and art therapy.
Camelot Care also runs homes in Bridgwater and Wellington in Somerset, and Holsworthy and Plymouth in Devon.
