The initial steering groups comprised two to five residents and two staff members. Residents of Victoria House and Ballantine Court – two nursing homes in Lanarkshire – have a variety of health issues and conditions, such as the consequences of stroke, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Gardening was seen as a way of increasing their levels of physical activity in a fun and creative way that would also benefit the wider community. In 2016, the World Health Organization launched a strategy for its European region aimed at improving physical activity levels in people of all ages to reduce the burden of disease caused by sedentary lifestyles . One of the priorities was to get older people to be more active, as it is recognised that physical activity in that age group helps slow down physical and mental health deterioration. For those of you looking to get stuck into a big project … Read More
