Community camaraderie flourishes in David’s garden at Wigan care village

This came after they found out that Wigan born and bred, David Ratcliffe was struggling to maintain his garden on his own.

Gardening is just one of the activities that David partakes in at the Belong care village in Platt Bridge - where he has resided for the last few years.

These days make up part of the Experience Days provided, it was when the group paid him a visit that he confided in friends and told them his garden was becoming a little tricky to keep on top of.

Charlene Frodsham, experience coordinator at Belong Wigan, said: “We were enjoying our day trip when David mentioned how his gardening was becoming a challenge for him. Everyone felt compelled to help and we said, ‘Do you know what? Let’s go and sort it’ – and that’s what we did!”

Thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of the club, David’s garden has now been tidied and transformed to create the perfect home for flowers, all whilst attracting birds, insects and wildlife.

Together, the group took advantage of the recent unseasonably warm weather by weeding, trimming hedges and sweeping, before planting hardy plants to survive the coming months, ready for their companion to enjoy next springtime.

Amongst the many clubs and activities that form its experiences programme, Belong Wigan’s customers are supported to participate in meaningful occupation in line with their interests – both at the village and outside in the wider community.

Charlene said: “Working on the garden was a pleasure for everyone involved. We have a lovely mix of Experience Day customers, like David, as well as our apartment tenants, and residents, some of whom are living with dementia. Everyone loves a challenge, and this certainly brought us all closer in the name of helping our friend.”