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Garget Walker House in Richmond celebrated the opening of the day centre garden with a strawberry fayre.
Chairman of Richmondshire District Council, Councillor Angie Dale, opened the new facility on May 20.
Organised by the Alzheimer’s Society Day Centre staff the event coincided with Dementia Awareness Week – and saw carers and supporters attend.
In late 2015 the Friends of Garget Walker House received a Communities Opportunity Fund Grant of £8,460 from the District Council to provide a new Dementia Friendly Garden for clients attending the day centre.
The renovation – which was the work of landscape gardener Craig Nicholson – saw an unsafe, uneven and sloping garden which had large trees blocking the light transformed.
It is now a safe and pleasant outdoor place for clients to enjoy flowers, relaxation and gardening therapy – and a venue for carers and the community to enjoy tea parties, musical events and many other activities in the future.
People with dementia come to Garget Walker House Day Centre from all parts of Richmondshire and the more remote villages in the Dales to receive specialised care and support from trained workers, allowing their carers a day of respite.
The Friends of Garget Walker House is a separate charity set up to support the day centre, fundraising to provide activity and resources and a volunteer driving scheme to transport clients.
It is being supported during the coming year by Councillor Dale as one of her civic charities.
