After donating over ?2,500 worth of bird care kits to The Royal British Legion services, including their beautiful Poppy Bird Feeders, Gardman dropped in to Care Home of the Year 2015, Galanos House on the 31st October to meet residents and hear how they’ve been enjoying feeding the birds in their garden.
Alongside the #GardmanPoppy campaign, which aims to raise ?200,000 for The Royal British Legion through the sale of charity Poppy Bird Feeders and bird feed, Gardman has provided six Royal British Legion care homes and a break centre with all the essentials for encouraging wild birds to visit and feed.
The bird feeding kits, which include a choice of Poppy Bird Feeders, bird baths and feeding tables, have been designed to provide a meaningful activity that care home residents can enjoy together.
Craig Edsey, activities manager at Galanos House care home in Warwickshire, said: ?Feeding birds is such a great activity for our residents, especially those suffering from dementia. We have found that by feeding the birds, it has often broken down the barrier for residents who find it difficult to go outside. It is a lovely concept of having birds return to the feeders each day and our residents treat them like their own pets.?
The Legion?s care homes provide long-term nursing and personal care to ex-service people and their dependants, including dedicated dementia care. Homes vary in size from 50 bedrooms to 90 bedrooms with communities including men and women of varied ages.
Gardman Bird Feeding Kits were provided to Dunkirk Memorial House in Somerset, Galanos House in Warwickshire, Halsey House in Norfolk, Lister House in North Yorkshire, Mais House in East Sussex, Maurice House in Kent, and Erskine in Renfrewshire (Scotland). A kit was also provided to Alderson House, a Royal British Legion break centre in East Riding of Yorkshire.
104-year-old Harry Askew, Retired Sniper serving in World War II and Resident at Galanos House care home, said: ?We love looking after the birds and the feeding kits are fantastic. They add a splash of colour to the gardens too!?
Gavin White, head of brands at Gardman, said: ?We hope that both veterans and wild birds will benefit from our bird feeding kits. With a good mix of quality bird seeds and feeding platforms you can tempt an array of wild birds to feed in your garden, while offering residents a valuable and rewarding outdoor pastime. It was wonderful to visit Galanos House to see how well the bird feeding kits have been received and are being used by residents on a daily basis.?
Andy Gollop, resident gardener at Galanos House, said: ?These Poppy Bird Feeders have been a welcome gift from Gardman. They have attracted a wide variety of birds including robins, blue tits, sparrows, finches, buzzards, crows and magpies. We have transformed the roundabout when people arrive by arranging a display of the poppies.?
Gardman Poppy Bird Feeders are currently on sale at garden centres across the country, with 50p from each sale being donated to the armed forces charity. A list of stockists can be found at www.gardmanpoppy.co.uk
