Green fingered residents at a care home in Ayr are set to venture out into the great outdoors in search of local wildlife, as plans for the home’s first nature trail get underway.
The trail is being created at Bupa’s Claremont Care Home in Whitletts, thanks to activity co-ordinator Katharine Thomson. She is working with her partner Graham Brown – a park ranger – to construct the walkway and give residents an exciting taste of nature.
The trail will lead around the outskirts of the care home and will include activities such as tree and plant identification and animal footprint identification using sand traps. Hedgehog houses and a bug hotel will also be a key feature to attract and protect local wildlife.
Ranger Graham will be visiting Claremont once a month to treat residents to guided tours and answer any questions they may have.
Katharine says: “At Bupa, we strive to offer new and exciting opportunities which benefit the health and wellbeing of our residents, which is why we’re thrilled that the building of the nature trail is now well underway and will soon be open for them to enjoy.
“We wanted to create something that would encourage them to get some fresh air while socialising with one another and the trail is the ideal way for them to have fun, while keeping active together.
“With the warmer weather now coming around, this is a great opportunity for both the residents and staff to get outdoors for a little sun and exercise, and we think everyone will be surprised to discover just how much wildlife we have in our local area.
“We also plan to keep adding to the trail whenever we get the chance, and are looking forward to any feedback from residents that we can then put into action.”
