What a difference a day makes!
The Ipswich branch of AXA came to Acorn Village as part of their Volunteer Day ‘Hearts in Action’ and what a day they had.
They converted a tired looking bit of decking into a wonderful sensory garden for adults with learning disabilities who are also visually impaired. The team worked tirelessly creating individual areas with different surfaces, plants with different scents and textures, wind chimes and a water feature.
They stained all the furniture and decking and created different heights with various pots from hanging ones to a large pot near the door with bamboo in so it can be heard rustling in the wind.
About 10minutes into the day , they had already cleared the weeds around the decking and started getting the sensory wooden panels in.
A day with a big impact, teamwork at its best
The wooden panels were kindly made by one of the volunteer’s husbands – thank you to him and to Michelle for arranging it all
New hanging herbs, perfect for sensory and giving extra flavour to their meals!
Sensory sensations- smell, touch, sight, sound & even tasting opportunities, the volunteers had put a lot of thought into their work
One of the resident’s favourite flowers is lavender and she’s so happy they have planted that for her
Wind spinners, wind chimes and a water feature as well as the touch panel at the back
Some of the residents testing out their brand new garden, they can’t wait to continually experience it as it develops
The AXA volunteers arranged the whole day, paid for all of the equipment and even went to Hearts Delight Garden Centre and managed to get more plants donated on the day. They also gave some additional funding to spend on the garden in the future.
Thank you so much to them all for their dedication and hard work. It has really paid off.