Following the success of last years event, our recent Open Garden 2024 was another testament to the vibrant community and transformative work we do here at The Red Shed. Blessed with a beautiful day of sunshine, the garden was in full bloom providing a beautiful backdrop for the days festivities. We welcomed along Deputy Lord Lituenant, Lady Martha Lytton Cobbold along with our Mayor Jim Brown. Also joining us for the afternoon were funders, local counsellors, partners, service users and of cause our team of wonderful staff, volunteers and trustees with their families and friends in tow.

We showcased a wonderful exhibition on Stevenage’s famous Clarence Elliot, a British horticulturalist from the early 1900’s, along with having Development Officer Joel Gainsford from Stevenage Borough Council, who delivered a fascinating talk about the amazing work of the Green Spaces Team. Our Garden tour was in full swing and the perfect opportunity to show off our beautiful accessible space and demonstrate the profound benefits that our garden clubs offer to the lives of those living with dementia.

It truly is delightful for us to stand back and witness the joy and engagement our garden brings to the local community. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our event – your involvement is what makes our garden not just a place of beauty, but a vibrant community of care and compassion.         

Here at The Red Shed we have encountered many misconceptions about the abilities of those living with dementia.

“What’s the point of a garden club if they have dementia? They can’t do a lot, and will they remember what they have done?”

This question reflects very quickly a negative assumption around dementia and instantly overlooks the profound benefits and possibilities that not only our garden club can offer, but also what our folk are able to achieve in their day-to-day life. It is essential to recognise that people living with dementia are capable of a lot more than what you might initially think, and The Red Shed’s aim is to tap into those abilities by providing a supporting and stimulating environment to engage them in meaningful activities.

People living with dementia often retain a variety of skills that they can continue to use in their daily lives bringing joy and purpose to their routines. For instance, one of our gardeners has a passion for art. She frequently spends time in the garden showcasing her amazing artistic abilities through drawings and paintings that are inspired by the garden. We have some folk attend who are more mobile and handy, they often want to use skills to repair or construct, using tools and materials from the garden; we recently had some help build wooden platners for use in the garden.     

Our Garden Clubs are great for promoting physical activity – Simple tasks such as planting seeds, watering plants and weeding keep our folk physically active, which is crucial for maintaining mobility and overall health. Physical activity as we know is also great for improving mood and reducing symptoms of anxiety.

The Red Shed is full of sensory experiences – The sight of colourful flowers, the smell of fresh herbs, the feel of soil and the sound of the birds… these sensory experiences can trigger positive memories and emotions, providing comfort and joy in the lives of our folk.

We encourage the skill of social interaction – our garden clubs are all about community and our folk work together on projects, share stories, listen and enjoy each other’s company. Social interaction is vital for mental health, to help combat feelings of isolation and loneliness that are common among those living with dementia and their carers.

Did you also know that gardening activities are great for stimulating and enhancing cognitive function. Following instructions, planning, recalling plant names – these are all exercises that keep the mind active. Whilst some participants may not remember every detail of what they have done, the process of engaging in these activities is beneficial in itself.  

Most importantly, our core belief is helping our folk living with dementia showcase what it is they can do in the garden and enjoy themselves in the process. The joy of seeing a flower bloom, the pride in harvesting a vegetable and the pleasure of spending time outdoors are moments of happiness that significantly contribute to overall wellbeing.

We like to think that The Red Shed’s is a testament to the fact that people living with dementia can still lead fulfilling, meaningful lives. By focusing more on what folk can do and enjoy, we help them, and their carers experience the positive impact of nature and the community.

This month we have had the privilage of being nominated as a Charity for the year for Toulouse Womens International Group aka TWIG.

Toulouse Women’s International Group (TWIG) aims to provide a diverse range of social, cultural, and sporting activities for its members of women living in and around Toulouse. They run several regular activities from Gardening to Creative Writing and through these groups foster friendships and support for members.

They raise money – particularly at their annual Christmas Fair – and donate to 3 different Charities each year. The Charities can be based in France or the UK.

Dementia affects people world wide and France has a similar statistics to the UK. During our presentation at the TWIG AGM, many hands were raised when the question was asked – ‘how many of you know someone who has dementia?’. Having lived experience of the disease was a major factor for the amount of votes The Red Shed received. Our Garden Clubs and Carers Cafe are always recognised as valuable servcies but it was also our commitment to research that spoke to some of the members. One person told us that hearing about the research meant that work was being done that may have positive effects in the future as well as our day to day provision.

So – The Red Shed has gone international! What an exciting connection to make!

Just as a footnote – we were nominated by a family member of one of our team. They live in Toulouse and are a member of TWIG. The chance for our CEO to present in person at the AGM was fitted into a weekend trip to catchup with family and relax in some French Spring sunshine!

We have been very lucky at The Red Shed to include an asylum seeker in our volunteer team. Maha came from Sudan where she was a teacher. She travelled to the UK and while she was waiting for her application for residency, she wanted to use her time and skills to help the local community.

Her time at The Red Shed has been interesting and valuable for us all. Carrying out her role as a volunteer was easy but going through the process of getting a DBS check was much more complex. Our volunteer co-ordinator took on the issue and worked with another volunteer from Garden House Hospice to produce a really useful document on getting through the knotty issues the system throws up.

We have shared this tool with the North Herts Centre for Volunteers and hope that it will help other organisations to feel more confident about using the amazing resource that asylum seekers and refugees can offer.

If you want to take a look, use the following link……

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/go-vol-herts_volunteering-involving-refugees-and-asylum-activity-7167840307940691968-TzNh?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

January is a quiet time in the garden but it is a time of planning and looking to the future –

We have made a list of events we would like to run this year, including a Quiz Night, Open Gardens, Plant Sale and Summer Picnic

We have made new plans for our garden – paint our storage shed, create a tea pot tree (who wouldn’t!!), move our herb bed and grow the biggest pumpkins yet!!

We will continue to provide our 4 Garden Clubs benefiting as many people as we can who’s lives are affected by dementia. Our Carer’s Cafe, Dementia Involvement Group and our Friendship group will all carry on and develope as we go.

We also are planning to look for a 2nd garden – some in Hertfordshire we hope, employ a new Project Manager and……well that is all probably enough for one year.

How exciting!

We’d better get to work…………

Through December we have run Craft goups for Red Shedders, their families and our Friends at the Irish Network. We also had a get together for our volunteer team to say a BIG thankyou for their hard work commitment and support this year.

Then we finished the year with our Christmas party! Always a great way to celebrate what we have all acheived this year and look forward to what we will get up to next year!

HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING SUPPORT FOR ALL THE WORK AT THE RED SHED !!

This year we have been having a great time working with the Stevenage Mayor as one of her chosen charities. We have been raising money, raising our profile along with that of all the dementia services in the town…but most excitingly of all we have played a big part in helping the town to get it’s Dementia Friendly accreditation from the Alzheimers Society. This is a great acololade and highlights how Stevenage is embracing the needs of those who are affected by Dementia.

We were really proud to have a team from The Red Shed to join the Mayor and celebrate the acheivement.

Back row left to right – Tim, who lives with dementia, Kayleigh our administrator and Ian, one of our Trustees

Front row left to right – Ann, member of our research group and Tim’s wife and carer , Norma one of the original Red Shedders! Myla the Mayor and Maha, one of our amazing volunteers.

In a world often consumed by negative news and headlines it has been a breath of fresh air
for me to stumble across The Red Shed; a haven of possibility and warmth nestled within
our local community. The Red Shed was a place, until recently, I didn’t know existed, but
upon discovering this charity through a good friend, and seeing they were recruiting… to
me, this was meant to be – I had to get in on the action!

Hi, my name is Kayleigh and I am The Red Shed’s new administrator. Stepping into this new
role has been nothing short of a wonderful journey; the moment I walked through that big
red gate I was immediately greeted with a tapestry of welcoming smiles, a feeling of
genuine warmth all around the garden and right away I could feel a sense of belonging.
It hasn’t taken me long to discover that The Red Shed isn’t your average organisation, it’s
instead a community; a family bonded together by a shared commitment of kindness and
support. Everything we do here, is done “The Red Shed Way” and backed by the dedication
of individuals who help fuel this mission – the staff, the volunteers, the gardeners, and their
families.
As my journey begins at The Red Shed, I already feel a great sense of pride. The energy and
passion that surrounds the garden has proven very contagious; discovering so many joyful
stories and acts of kindness that are woven into the fabric of this charity. My eagerness to
dive in and contribute has been met with open arms and I’m really looking forward to
getting stuck in with helping The Red Shed continue to blossom, to touch more lives, and to
spread more joy throughout our local community.

This month we were really pleased to work with the Family Volunteering Club who encourage children under 5 to volunteer. A group of young volunteers and their Mums came to The Red Shed and helped with a few tasks around our garden.

They were very good at picking up all the twigs and small branches from our woodland path. This is a great help as it makes it a safe path for people in wheelchairs or using walking aids. It was a lovely morning and some of our participants came along to join the fun.

It’s clearly never to early to start helping others, so well done to the Family Volunteering Club for setting up such a unique and wonderful project.

We are really pleased to team up with Hertswise to grow our Carers Cafe and build on the service we offer. We launch our new look Cafe on 1st August. We will continue to meet once a month and provide support, respite and information to anyone who is caring for someone with dementia. Many of our regulars have been carering for some time and have lots of tips to pass on as well as the understanding of a lived experience to share.

When circumstances change and those who are cared for go into a home or sady die, we continue to welcome the carer for as long as they need to come along.

Hertswise are contracted by Herts County Council to provide dementia services countywide. They are a brilliant organisation and we are looking forward to this team effort being a great success!