30 Days Wild has become 365 Days Wild for Langwith Lodge Residential Home

We are so excited to announce that Langwith Lodge Residential Home has partnered with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and adopted a new role as a Wildlife Guardian. As well as sponsoring and supporting the valuable work of the Trust the home has pledged to do so much more for the wildlife living on and around its grounds; there are plans afoot for more bird boxes, a wildflower meadow, better access across the landscape for all residents and identification workshops.

This new relationship comes as a result of the home's participation in Wildlife Trust challenge 30 Days Wild this June. Inspiring people to do just one random act of wild per day the initiative aims to show us all just how easy it is to interact with nature. The home's staff and residents made daisy chains, ate lunch outside beside the lake and looked out for all manner of birds and beasties over the course of the month - and had a wonderful time doing so. Manager Zoe noted how the home's fall rate reduced significantly during June when compared to earlier months, and attributed the residents' calmness to their engagement with nature. Fewer instances of agitation and anxiety meant fewer falls. What's more the residents loved looking out for wildlife, and were able to reminisce about childhood activities and favourite pastimes. 

Langwith Lodge is looking forward to carrying on the successes of 30 Days Wild as it pledges to be a wilder home all round. Please do keep an eye out for some wonderful additions to our home and landscape!

- Louise, Marketing Assistant

Here's the press release created by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to tell you all about our plans...

Source: https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/news/30-days-wild-turns-365-days-wild 

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust's Mark Speck with Managing Director Vicki, Home Manager Zoe and Marketing Assistant Louise

30 Days Wild, the Wildlife Trusts’ June campaign to engage people daily with nature, has been taken to a whole other level by Langwith Lodge Residential Home staff and residents, who have now gone 365 Days Wild thanks to becoming corporate supporters of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and enhancing their home and grounds for wildlife.

The staff and residents whole-heartedly entered the fun of 30 Days Wild even before the launch in June by exploring their grounds to see what wildlife they had.  They discovered sparrowhawks hunting, fish swimming in their lake and nest boxes to watch, amongst ideas hatched to start a sensory garden close to the house to encourage residents to get outdoors for fresh air and a small amount of exercise to test their senses.

Mark Speck, Conservation Officer at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust also visited recently to view the site and make further recommendations to enhance the habitats for wildlife and people, including the installation of more bird boxes and a bug hotel, the establishment of a wildflower meadow, and the creation of paths for residents and families to be able to easily access the lake from the house. He also suggested plans to transform the lake into a bird and animal-watching haven, and supported the home’s ideas for a mud kitchen or wild garden for residents and children to enjoy together during visits. There are so many perfect ways for the staff, residents and visitors to share experiences in the moment and build new memories.

Louise Baker is the Marketing Assistant at Your Health Ltd, which owns Langwith Lodge Residential Home. She says, “We are really happy with the benefits the residents have experienced while taking part in 30 Days Wild, and the improvements to their health and wellbeing during this time have been a great achievement for many of them. It’s something we’re keen to build on. During 30 Days Wild we also included many indoor activities for those who couldn’t make it to our new sensory garden, to ensure that we kept everyone engaged in the campaign. We are excited about the new opportunities our partnership with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust will provide” Louise continued, “Thanks to Mark’s visit we can enhance our estate further for wildlife, and have plans to improve the water quality of our lake, install bird and bat boxes, and organise identification walks and workshops for residents. There’s so much space for a wildflower meadow, and we’ve hopes of making the grounds even more accessible for less-able residents. We hope to greatly improve the access of our land to wildlife, too. Every animal is welcome here!”

Staff from the 54-bed care home also recently attended Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s inaugural “Nature, Health and Wellbeing” business event in July, where they learned about the mental and physical health benefits of spending time in green spaces rich in wildlife.  The event featured case studies on the benefits that teams from businesses can gain from volunteering on nature reserves, and presentations on the Trust’s work vaccinating badgers against Bovine Tuberculosis.

Holly McCain, Senior Development Officer from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said “We are very pleased that Your Health Ltd has re-joined the Trust as a business supporter.  Having met with the team it is clear to see that they are keen to improve the health and wellbeing of their long-term residents at Langwith Lodge – as well as daycare visitors and guests staying at the home on shorter respite stays – by providing safe and easy access to their beautiful sensory garden and wider grounds rich in wildlife.  We look forward to seeing how the Langwith Lodge team further enhance the site for both people and wildlife to thrive in”.  Thanks to support from Langwith Lodge Residential Home, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is able to continue managing nature reserves across the county and engaging people with nature and wildlife.

For more information about Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Corporate Supporter scheme click here or ask for Holly McCain on 0115 958 8242.