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30 Days Wild for Saltburn care home residents

Bysam@schofieldcomms.com

Jun 13, 2020

30 DAYS of wildlife activities have been taking place at a North Yorkshire care home as part of a nationwide challenge to do something wild every day in June.

The Wildlife Trusts set the 30 Days Wild challenge to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the natural environment.

Residents at Hazelgrove Court Care Home, on Randolph Street, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, have been enjoying nature dot-to-dots, feeding the birds, leaf printing, planting sunflowers and exploring nature through a microscope.

Resident Peggy Bland said: “I loved using the microscope to see the yellow flowers on the slide.”

Other activities have included nature puzzles and games, making bird feeders, a bug hotel, painting flowers, making daisy chains, and finding shapes in the clouds.

Resident Dot Paling said: “It was fun finding shapes in the clouds, even though it was raining. I was sure I spotted a couple of wine glasses.”

Resident Joyce Baxtrum made the bug hotel from cardboard tubes filled with leaves and twigs. She said: “If I were a bug I would move in tomorrow.”

They have also been using video calling platform Zoom to virtually travel to Botton Village social farm, in North Yorkshire, where they were shown bees making honey and pigs rolling around in mud.

Resident Clare Norman said: “It was good watching the pigs and not being able to smell them.”

The residents have also virtually ventured further afield, watching wildlife from live webcams around the world. They have seen starlings in Germany, a bird feeding station at Vine House Farm, in Lincolnshire, barn owls and blue tits with Dorset Wildlife Trust and hedgehogs on YouTube.

Residents have been telling their family members about their wildlife activities and they have responded by sending in several videos of animals they have seen during their own excursions outside, including otters, swans with cygnets, ducks with ducklings and slowworms.

Nesting boxes with built-in webcams have since been ordered for the residents, so they can view wildlife closer to home.

Tina Temple, home manager at Hazlegrove Court Care Home, said: “When we learned of The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild challenge, we thought it was a great opportunity for our residents to get involved.

“Using the activities calendar sent by The Wildlife Trusts, our residents have been able to take part in a new activity every day in June and they’ve all been a huge success.

“We have been making the most of the lovely weather with the use of our garden and organised a wide range of indoor activities that have encouraged residents to use their minds with quizzes and games, their fine motor skills with painting, making daisy chains and leaf art and sparked happy memories of walks with family members and trips to the beach.

“Although the 30 Days Wild challenge is coming to an end soon, there will be further outdoors themed activities throughout the summer and the rest of the year, as they enjoyed by everyone at Hazelgrove Court.”