Edenmore Nursing Home Gets Arty!

Edenmore Nursing Home was delighted to welcome Sarah Fenner this week, from Creative Minds on Wednesday.

Creative Minds art sessions allow people to express themselves through the creative process, and they deliver these sessions to many types of venues including care homes.

Art can remind people of what they can do, not what they can’t do. This creates a sense of pride when residents, fondly referred to as family members, display their art in their home and it can also help to build individuals confidence through finding this new skill or hobby.

Art for people living with a Dementia is beneficial because it provides a non-verbal means of expression, allowing individuals to communicate thoughts, feelings, and memories that may be difficult to articulate verbally. Gayle, the Home Manager, summed-up the event by saying “Having creative minds visit us inspires our family members to connect, be creative, learn new skills, and most importantly have fun. Art can be a mood enhancer, the family members themselves are less heightened and more engaged.”

At the core of Edenmore Nursing Home's philosophy lies a commitment to fostering independence and embracing life's spontaneous moments. By facilitating activities like this, the care home aims to create an environment where residents, feel empowered to explore new experiences and forge meaningful connections outside their immediate community. 

 

 

 

 

Edenmore Nursing Home Media Release May 2024

 

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To find out more about Edenmore Nursing Home please visit www.edenmorenursinghome.com

To find out more about Creative Minds please visit https://creativeminds.art/

 

Burton At Bideford wins £120k of Arts Council England funding to improve sustainability

The Burton At Bideford art gallery and museum has been awarded a £120,000 grant from Arts Council England’s Capital Investment Programme.

This funding will enable The Burton to continue providing high-quality creative and cultural experiences for people in North Devon, while reducing the organisation’s environmental impact.

The money will be used to improve the sustainability of the Burton building, with plans to install solar PV panels and update the glazing on the front elevation, as well as modernising the heating systems and bathrooms.

The funding also includes commissioning opportunities for local artists, helping The Burton to further build its reputation for supporting work about the environment through its series of Environmental Commissions.

The Capital Investment Programme supports the Arts Council’s mission to ensure communities across the country have the infrastructure where creativity for everyone can thrive.

Carole Evans, Co-Director (Interim), Learning & Engagement at The Burton, said: “In a landscape of rising energy costs, the past couple of years have been challenging for The Burton – as a charity we rely on grants and donations to continue the valuable work we do. This funding from Arts Council England will reduce our costs over the long term, allowing more of our precious funds to go to providing outreach projects, free workshops for children, and continuing to bring high-quality exhibitions to North Devon.”

Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: “This infrastructure investment will help a whole range of different cultural organisations across England to flourish, increasing opportunities for people to enjoy creatively excellent cultural events close to where they live. It’s particularly important that we’re making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low”.

Charity wants ‘bat detectives’ for nighttime investigation

A leading local conservation charity is calling on people in Devon to help it discover more about the county’s bats.

Devon Wildlife Trust is about to embark on the ninth year of its Devon Bat Survey. The research is believed to be one of the biggest citizen science projects in the county and has already collected more than 1.3 million bat records. Data from the surveys play a vital role in helping to protect bats.

The 2024 Devon Bat Survey is about to open on Tuesday 7^th May and Devon Wildlife Trust is hoping to recruit volunteer ‘bat detectives’ to take part. No previous experience of bat detecting is necessary. Instead, participants need to agree to host a small electronic bat detector in their garden for three consecutive nights. The bat detectors then record the ultrasonic signals made by bats as they navigate the dark during their nighttime flights.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Lindsay Mahon coordinates the bat survey as part of her work for Saving Devon’s Treescapes project. Lindsay said:

“Last year our wonderful volunteer bat detectives recorded more than 350,000 bat passes – that is, records of bats flying by. Many of these were common kinds of bat such as pipistrelles, but the surveys also turned up several rarities including threatened greater horseshoe bats.

The results of the bat survey provide us with an invaluable insight into the habits of these fascinating animals. We use its results to help direct our work to where it’s needed most – protecting the homes and feeding grounds of Devon’s bat populations.”  

This year’s Devon Bat Survey will run until early October, coinciding with the months when bats are most active. Signing up as a volunteer bat detective is free to do via the Devon Wildlife Trust website https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/devon-bat-survey-2024 Participants book the dates on which they want to undertake their survey and then arrange to pick up their bat detector from one of 12 host centres dotted around the county (see full list below). After three nights of recording, they return their bat detector and upload their survey recordings to an online system which analyses the sounds and returns the results showing which types of bats were detected.

This year, one of the Bat Survey’s host centres is the Younghayes Centre in Cranbrook, East Devon. Andrew Chapman-New, Ranger at Cranbrook Town Council said:

“Cranbrook Town Council and I are very thankful to be a Devon Bat Survey host centre. We are excited to find out what species of bats we have in and around our community. Our Country Park is the heart of our young town and is home to a range of wildlife which the community admire and love. This is a great opportunity for individuals and groups to get hands on and discover the biodiversity and nocturnal life around Cranbrook and surrounding areas. Through identifying species populations, we can implement strategies to further support conservation within our communities.”

DWT’s Bat Survey Coordinator, Lindsay Mahon said:

“We encourage people of all ages, in all parts of the county, to join in and take part in the Devon Bat Survey. All we ask is that you place your detector in a secure location, such as a private garden, follow the instructions we provide, and then enjoy your results. My top tip is to sign up early to take part as bookings fill up fast.”

More information about the Devon Bat Survey is available at https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/devon-bat-survey-2024

Bookings for bat detectors will open at the same web page on Tuesday 7^th May.

The full list of host centres where people can borrow a bat detector includes:

• Younghayes Centre in Cranbrook, East Devon
• Devon Wildlife Trust, Cricklepit Mill, Exeter
• Avon Mill Garden Centre, Loddiswell, South Devon
• St Bridget Garden Centre, Clyst St. Mary, East Devon
• Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, Occombe Farm, Paignton
• Puffing Billy Café, Great Torrington, North Devon
• Northam Burrows Country Park, Northam, North Devon
• Braunton Burrows Countryside Centre, Braunton, North Devon
• The Garden Shop, Colyton, East Devon
• Churchinford & District Community Shop, Blackdown Hills
• Becky Falls, Manaton, Dartmoor
• The Tamar Valley Centre, Gunnislake, West Devon

Please note: a booking to take part in the Devon Bat Survey must be made before a bat detector can be collected.

Common Pipistrelle bats. Photo credit Tom Marshall 

DWT’s Bat Survey Coordinator, Lindsay Mahon, deploys bat detector.