Bringing people together and nourishing souls, we are campaigning to save our Dementia Gardening Sessions and our Time for Tea Cookery group
Since 2016, people living with dementia & their carers have had life-changing experiences at our sociable cookery groups and our beautiful gardening sessions. From April 2025, NHS Sussex have withdrawn their funding, and we are campaigning to question this decision and seek support for the groups to continue. Find out more about the groups’ impact & how you can help below.
The benefits of communal gardening and cooking are well-known. These activities not only nourish our bodies but also our minds, fostering creativity, relaxation, and a sense of accomplishment.
For individuals living with dementia and their caregivers, our community gardening and cookery groups offer a safe haven where they can connect with nature, learn new skills, and meet new friends. By providing these activities we help to empower people living with dementia and their carers, providing an increased sense of purpose, more independence and a space where they can learn and share safely.
As a carer you can get very down – regularly meeting with people in a similar situation to us, in such a fun, positive and supportive environment, has been uplifting.
Time for Tea
Cooking, eating, and preparing meals as a group can help to evoke cherished memories and reignite culinary passions. At our cookery club, we embark on this journey together, creating light, delicious meals to be shared around our communal dining table. From comforting curries to decadent cakes and fresh salads, our changing weekly menu caters to every palate. Whether it’s a classic favourite requested in previous weeks or an exciting dish from around the world, our participants leave each session feeling inspired and empowered to recreate these dishes in their own kitchens.
We have loved the recipes we’ve made. Some we’d never made before. Our absolute favourites we now regularly make at home for ourselves, and for our family. We are certainly eating more green veggies.
Our cookery sessions are tailored to the needs and interests of our participants, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment. A team of friendly, regular volunteers works alongside our experienced cookery leader to guide and assist participants, encouraging independence while offering help when needed.
Our diverse range of recipes caters to all skill levels, ensuring that everyone can find something to enjoy. The sense of community that has developed among our regular attendees is truly heart-warming, with participants forming friendships and attending more activities outside of the kitchen.
I can’t cook much at home anymore – being able to have the space to cook safely has been wonderful.
Dementia Friendly Gardening
Our gardening group provides a safe space for people living with dementia to safely access the outdoors, improve their wellbeing and take part in a group activity. The weekly sessions have helped people build their confidence, in getting out the house and talking to new people.
The activities led by our fabulous community gardener and volunteers include seed sowing and harvesting (British weather permitting!), simple recipes, arts and crafts such as making bird feeders and lavender bags and some light gardening activities.
We don’t do things at home, we watch TV or do jigsaws … This is a very special place… the glory of it is it’s so different from our home, if we live alone, our lives are pretty mundane. So this is like a wonderful highlight in the week … The garden speaks for itself… it’s like a fairytale.
For individuals living with dementia, accessing the outdoors can become increasingly challenging, especially as mobility declines. Our garden offers a serene and inclusive space where people can reconnect with nature, surrounded by familiar faces and supportive staff. By welcoming both seasoned gardeners and gardening newbies, we’ve inspired a renewed love for nature and encouraged more people to spend time outdoors.
I feel better now I am part of a group which is empathetic and compassionate, I feel more motivated to grow vegetables. It’s also helped me leave the house and has given me such a boost to my self worth.
The ripple effect
“I could hear them all doing their activity, and I just took a couple of hours out and just did some breathing and enjoyed the garden and I never get to do anything like that.”
These groups also create space and comfort for people caring for someone living with dementia. Carers can share experiences with those living through similar circumstances, make new memories together with their loved one, or take a precious moment for themselves while the activity takes place.
We did some lovely things.. it was really nice to get away from the usual ‘let’s make sure you’ve got food in the fridge, have you had your meds’ … routine which is just so boring, and it was just lovely to do something else away from that with the person that I look after.
Meanwhile our dedicated volunteers work alongside both groups and we couldn’t run them without this vital support. Some volunteers have personal experiences of dementia, and many have stayed over many years, building up a beautiful repertoire of skills for supporting people living with memory issues.
It’s just a joyous place to be really. To join in other people’s pleasure at doing something that they might not remember five minutes later but they know at the time – we laugh a lot.
Evidence and impact
The amazing feedback we receive from our participants is backed-up by a wide range of reports & research, including a University of Exeter study in which our garden group participated, and various literature reviews including a report from Alzheimers Scotland.
A researcher from the Exeter study reported that garden groups can “create unique spaces in which people with dementia can feel part of a community and empowered to engage in activities which provide purpose and challenge. These groups can also have a real impact on care partners, who can frequently feel exhausted and isolated, to gain vital moments of respite, support and advice from others.”
“I’m getting on a bit and it keeps me fit … I’ll be 80 in January … but I can still swing a spade and dig.”
How you can help:
We are campaigning to question the decision to end the funding for these groups – if you are concerned please consider contacting your local Councillor. We want to ensure our participants and other local people living with dementia have a say in the re-commissioning of the activities & services to support them. Our groups may be able to start again if recommissioned in future.
We are also seeking future funding to continue offering this vital support to local people. If you are a funder or major donor, please get in touch – we are also accepting public donations via our Justgiving Campaign page.
With your support, we hope to continue this work for another decade and beyond.
