Gardener - Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom - St Anthony of Padua Community Association

St Anthony of Padua Community Association

Verified Company

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

4 days ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

The Garden Project

Who we are
Originally established by the local community in response to the social and economic challenges affecting Walker following the closure of the shipyards, St Anthony of Padua

Community Association has grown and now supports over 500 adults across the east end of the city and in Wallsend to maintain their continued independence through the provision of

Day Care, Home Care and Extra Care Housing.

We support adults with a range of health, care and social needs including dementia, cognitive impairment, mental health, learning and physical disabilities, social isolation and general frailty.

We also provide carer relief for families.

As a local charity with committed staff, volunteers and good local networks, we are able to provide additional support responding to personal need and circumstances.

We also provide support for the local youth facility, The Bostey.

We actively seek opportunities to engage with adults who may be at risk of social isolation securing external funding to run outreach projects to engage people in for example health improvement, digital inclusion and creating social networks.

We provide monthly social events in our daycentre for the wider community and provide a meals service to the neighbouring sheltered accommodation as part of our outreach offer.

Our centre is used by local groups providing additional services to the community as well as being a location for community events.

Over 90% of trustees, staff and volunteers live within the community we serve, ensuring we retain our local knowledge, understanding and identity.

We are regulated by CQC and at our last inspection were rated "Outstanding".

What we want to do
We established the Garden Project in November 2020 with funding secured from the Kellett

Fund. The project has flourished over that time with continuation funding being awarded.

The "Garden Project" utilises the social and therapeutic value of gardening to build connections/friendships for older people in our community, particularly those at risk of social isolation and experiencing loneliness.

The Project has created opportunities for sharing skills, knowledge, and getting people outdoors into the natural environment. The project has also provided a range of arts and social events including e.g.

using plants for dyes and dying fabrics, cooking with produce from the garden and hosting afternoon teas and singing in the garden.

The Community Gardener also established a quarterly Garden "Zine" - last issues provided in this information pack.

This is produced with people and sent to all our service users so people can also engage remotely with the project.

Our main site is based on Welbeck Road in Walker where we provide a range of services including Day Care, Housing with Care and supporting the Bostey, our local youth project.

Adjacent services include:

Sheltered Housing Scheme,
Residential Home,

- the local parish of St Anthony of Padua RC church and presbytery house.

We also have another garden at our second Housing with Care Scheme on Stotts Road.

The fully accessible Garden forms part of our footprint and, in discussion with people we recognised the need for a safe and secure place for older people in our community to meet and engage in activities together.

We wish to employ someone with good gardening and people skills to act as a catalyst, bringing together isolated people in our community to benefit from being with others and engaging in outdoor activities.

We need someone with the vision, innovation and enthusiasm, to take this successful project forward.

We have created opportunities for people to pursue and develop practical interests and skills and to enable people to connect and enjoy the garden throughout the year.

The project offers arrange of activities on site as well as a programme of visits to gardens and places of interest.

We provide transport to support people's participation.

Why we want to do it
Research evidences the significant negative impact of loneliness and isolation on health and wellbeing. It also identifies the scale of this issue.

There is clear evidence of the positive difference that engaging in activities, developing new friendships and social networks can have on the lives of individuals.

Whilst the majority of the people we work with have been referred to us, we know that there are many older people in our community that feel excluded.

We know that people often require encouragement and support to engage, necessitating outreach work to make those initial connections and then providing transport and "buddying" to attend a new venue.

Our experience to date evidences that being involved in activities, learning new skills and making friends has lasting benefits improving the quality of someone's life and improving mental wellbeing.

Engagement in the Garden Project provides,