Liskeard Team 2
This Team has been nominated for the Avon & Somerset Police Community Impact award, which recognises the positive contribution young people make to their local community whilst developing their own skills.
A group of nine employed young people aged 18 to 24, from Liskeard in Cornwall, gave up their own time to create a sensory garden at Morley Tamblyn Lodge – a day centre for adults with learning disabilities.
The young people had joined Team, a 12-week Prince’s Trust programme delivered in partnership with Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, which helps improve the skills and confidence of unemployed young people. Part of the programme sees the group take on a project that will enhance the lives of people in their local community. When one of the Team members suggested helping Morley Tamblyn Lodge, the others all agreed.
Katie Rogers says: “The garden area needed some love, but the Lodge didn’t have the funds or staff to see to it. We wanted to make it really special so we did some research online and spoke to the manager and found out that adults with learning disabilities like different textures because it helps stimulate their senses. So we decided to create a sensory garden.”
Liskeard Team 2 set to work in earnest, fundraising for the project by packing bags at a local supermarket and approaching local companies for donations. Playing to each other’s strengths they sanded, painted and planted raised beds with visually stimulating colours and created a selection of sensory touch boxes. They pressure washed and painted the pavement and made an additional accessible pathway around the flowerbeds. The main attraction, however, was a farm-themed, wheelchair-accessible 3D wall onto which they mounted individually crafted, uniquely textured animals. They even added a hinged, panel-mounted scarecrow with a cut-out face for the service users to pop their own faces through and enjoy.
The thought and teamwork that went into this sensory garden was exceptional; it bolstered the entire group’s confidence and made them proud of themselves and each other. What’s more, the users of Morley Tamblyn Lodge are thrilled with their new garden.
The members of Liskeard Team 2 have now gone on to find work, volunteer placements or undertaken further education.
