Maidenhead care home is watching the birdie as part of the Great Garden Birdwatch

Company news

Jan 24, 2012

Residents at Care UK's Clara court will be monitoring the gardens they have helped to develop for a special RSPB project this weekend (28th-29th January).

Activities co-ordinator Lisa Reid said: “Many of our residents have always enjoyed watching the birds but we noticed towards the end of last year that, as our gardens develop, we are seeing a greater diversity of bird life and more wildlife in general.

“Now our residents can be seen with their bird identification guides in the gardens, whilst others have joined in from the home’s terraced balconies, which not only have views of the grounds, but also have their own bird tables, plants and seated areas.

“Our residents and volunteers have done an expert job in developing the grounds and the increase in wildlife activity has come as an unexpected bonus. The residents are feeding the birds and we are using the notes and drawings they have made to inspire our arts and craft sessions.”

The team are also using the birdwatching experiences in their reminiscence sessions too. Lisa said: “We have unlocked lots of memories from people’s earlier lives, with people remembering feeding pigeons and other birds in their local park.”

During the Great Garden Birdwatch Weekend, residents will document the number and variety of birds they can see in the Courthouse Road home’s gardens and report back to the RSPB, which is monitoring bird populations across the country.

Clara Court is a 76-bed residential care home that provides expert care for older people, many of whom have dementia and it recently received an award for Excellence in Dementia Care.

Picture credit: Ray Kennedy, RSPB Images