Gouden Dagen as the lead partner and IVN hosted the 1st consortium meeting of Flower project in Amsterdam on the 8th and 9th May 2023. Other project partners are also CEOMA (Spain), Anziani e non solo (Italy), Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia and Spominčiča – Alzheimer Slovenia. The aim is to improve the well-being, health and social inclusion of older people through nature and the first activities are already being implemented in each partner country.
By strengthening the nature-related competences of older individuals, their families and friends (informal carers), the consortium aims to empower them with knowledge, skills and activities that will bring joy and positive experiences into their lives. The goal of the meeting was to present and discuss about the first activities done till now. Partners presented selected good practices on nature related activities for frail older people and good practices on educating green skills. The initiatives outlined were mediation, exercise in nature, garden-related initiatives, walking paths and trim trails, different workshops in nature like herbalism and aromatherapy, outdoor intergenerational activities and cultural and environmental walks.
Before summer partners will prepare national reports and in September each will organize 3 focus groups with frail older people and their informal carers. During these sessions, the gathered best practices will be shared and more in-depth discussion will take place. The goal of Flower project is to produce a set of online learning resources with video, audio and other tools (workbooks, cards, games, etc.) specifically designed for frail older people. Stay tuned for more information and cooperation.