This playlist brings together talks delivered as part of the ENLIVEN Programme knowledge exchange event, hosted by David Fitzgerald and recorded on 31st January 2024 at the New Armouries, Tower of London.
Dementia Researcher recorded the event through our Open Access Events initative if you’re an event organisers, get in touch to see how we could support your event.
The ENLIVEN Programme knowledge exchange brought together a wide range of stakeholders to examine an innovative range of nature-based experiences co-created by people with dementia and visitor attractions. Enjoying nature can have a beneficial effect for people with dementia. The event showcased how dementia-inclusive thinking can be designed and put into practice. The UK population is ageing, and with increased longevity it is important to understand how to add not just years to life but also life to years by promoting good health and activity, . As a research team with a real passion for trying to help people living with dementia to experience good quality of life and well-being, we created an interdisciplinary project that spanned dementia, business, and the visitor economy to better understand how we could help unlock the potential of the nature component of visitor attractions and sites for people living with dementia. The purpose was to enable businesses, including social enterprises, to develop and deliver beneficial products, services, and business models to help the population.
ENLIVEN was funded by UK Research and Innovation as part of the Healthy Ageing Challenge which aimed to help people remain active, productive, independent and socially connected across generations for as long as possible. With the increased longevity of the UK population leading to increased numbers of people living with dementia or cognitive impairment, it is important to understand how to add not just years to life but also life to years by promoting good health and activity, as a research team.
Download the ENLIVEN Guide ‘Using nature to make your visitor economy business dementia-inclusive’ and other ENLIVEN resources including practical tips for businesses, policy brief and films made with people living with dementia involved in the project: https://enlivenproject.co.uk/
Professor Linda Clare - Introduction to ENLIVEN
Professor Linda Clare - Introduction to ENLIVEN
Sophie Tucker - Overview and strategic priorities for Alzheimer’s Society
Professor Stephen Page - Evidence base for inclusivity in nature-based experiences: ENLIVEN findings
Steve Milton - Voices & participation of people with dementia in the ENLIVEN demonstration projects
Kim Klug & Jatinder Kailey - Dementia-inclusive experience at the Tower of the London using Nature
Jon Sleigh – Story telling, the use of memory boxes and nature: Experience from the Tower of London
Nicola Stone – Seaton Tramway and the use of nature to engage people with dementia
Seiwa Cunningham & Ben White - Nature and the reminiscence project at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Michelle Kindleysides & Beth Marston - Dementia-friendly photography walks, Beamish Museum
Lynn Roddy - Involving people with dementia in nature-based projects
Siobhan Goodwin – A nature connection course: The case of the Bishop’s Palace
Claire Leighton – Creating a safe space for dementia visiting using nature: Strawberry Hill House
Full videos with captions are available on our YouTube Channel.
About the Speakers
Linda Clare is a Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing and Dementia at the University of Exeter Medical School, and her research aims to improve the lives of older people and people with dementia.
Joanne Connell is Professor in Sustainability and Tourism at Exeter University Business School and her research in dementia has examined the links between tourism and dementia, specifically in the visitor attraction sector and their journey towards dementia inclusivity.
Seiwa Cunningham is a freelance Artist-Educator who has worked on numerous dementia-friendly projects and has contributed to two of the ENLIVEN projects (Kew Gardens and the National Coal Mining Museum).
David Fitzgerald (Fitz) was a Radio presenter on BBC Radio Devon until 2023 and is now working with Clear Sky Publishing producing podcasts, newspaper features and social media.
Siobhan Goodwin is the Community Engagement Manager at the Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset and led the ENLIVEN project to empower people living with dementia to connect with nature through the gardens at the Bishop’s Palace.
Jatinder Kailey is Community Partnership Producer at Historic Royal Palaces, based at the Tower of London, and has worked on community access programmes including the Kensington Palace project – Build Your Own Discovery, for adult groups who faced real or perceived barriers to engagement with the Palace.
Michelle Kindleysides is Head of Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator at Beamish museum, and has led a great deal of the dementia-inclusivity work at the museum including the opening of new spaces for reminiscence.
Claire Leighton is the Community Development Manager at Strawberry Hill House & Garden, west London and led the ENLIVEN project to develop an action plan on how to make the Feel Good garden more dementia-inclusive along with developments in how to access the site and the creation of a sensory trail.
Beth Marston is a Health and Well-worker at Beamish and led the ENLIVEN project on Framing it differently: Mindful dementia-friendly photography walks.
Kim Klug-Miller is Community Partnerships Manager at Historic Royal Palaces. She established the UK Heritage Network for practitioners and led the work on the Historic Royal Palaces Rethinking Heritage Guide in 2017. She is also a Disability and Access Ambassador for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for Heritage.
Steve Milton is Co-Director of Innovations in Dementia. He has worked with older and disabled people since 1985, as a researcher, writer and service manager and helped set up the Alzheimer’s Society Helpline in 1995 which he ran for 7 years.
Stephen Page is Professor of Business and Management at Hertfordshire Business School, Hatfield and his research on dementia looks at how to build greater inclusivity in the visitor economy.
Lynn Roddy is owner of Home Instead, a care provider, a Trustee of Cycling Without Age West Devon and East Cornwall and Chair of Tavistock Dementia Alliance.
Jon Sleigh is a freelance Arts Educator, Learning Officer and Learning Curator and worked with the Tower of London on storytelling and memory boxes with the moat project. His book – What are Museums for? was published in 2023 by Bristol University Press.
Nicola Stone is Director at Seaton Tramway responsible for Learning, Activity and Interpretation Manager. Nicola has overseen the Heritage Fund project ‘Travels through Heritage and the Axe Valley’ and specialises in audience engagement, activity planning, learning, interpretation and diversity and inclusion, working with heritage organisations wishing to develop National Lottery Heritage Fund bids.
Sophie Tucker is the Operations Partnership Manager at Alzheimer’s Society and has worked in numerous dementia support roles with the Society.
Ben White is Discovery & Access Learning Coordinator at Kew Gardens and manages the programme of accessible learning activities, working with disabled and marginalised groups from across London and the Southeast to co-create and develop an engaging programme which includes sensory tours, reminiscence for people with dementia, and British Sign Language tours.