The ‘SenseOceans’ project shares the group experience of their day out to the sea in Budleigh Salterton. This project is funded through the East Devon National Landscape Fund, and led in partnership with Ottery Help Scheme, Devon Memory Cafe Consortium, Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust and Rockfish,  

This experience was written and shared by Ottery Help Scheme.

The wellbeing agenda started with an interactive birding session run by Rick the ranger from the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, who explained the history of the Otter Estuary and showed the group how to spot and doodle birdlife.

Rick said it was great to see how enthusiastic everyone was to have a go at sketching and to hear their thoughts on how the estuary has changed since its restoration. Anne, one of the Memory Café participants, recalled how her son used to play cricket on the pitch that is now a bird nesting ground.

The group then headed for tea and tasty cockles, fish, and chips kindly offered by Rockfish at their restaurant on the promenade. Food heritage is a powerful trigger for memories and the group soon began singing “cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh!” and sharing their seaside souvenirs of rectangular ice cream cones and Punch and Judy shows. The locally caught battered hake and chips were relished by all –

“Top class A1″,”Excellent, beautiful meal”, “What a treat to have such fresh fish”

were just some of the feedback from the diners.

Andree Vacchelli who leads community engagement at Rockfish said,

“It was a real pleasure to welcome the SenseOceans group and be part of such a lovely day. Food, the sea and memories go hand in hand, and it was fantastic to see everyone enjoying the fresh fish, sharing stories and getting involved in the singalong! Our team loved being part of the experience and helping create a relaxed, welcoming space.”

Ottery Help Scheme, a community organisation in Ottery St Mary, together with the Devon Memory Cafe Consortium, facilitates monthly social ‘memory café’ events for people with dementia and their carers.

Closer nature connection helps wellbeing and in particular, for people with dementia. Recognising the value of creatively connecting this group to the coastal landscape and heritage, SenseOceans aims
to enrich ocean engagement through a series of multisensory workshops supported by community volunteers and students.

These sessions will celebrate memories through the sound, taste, feel, fun and beauty of the seascape, culminating in a sensorial exhibition of tactile art, music and crafts.

Elderly communities hold precious, invaluable testimonies of East Devon landscapes of the past. We hope this intergenerational hands-on initiative will inspire future nature engagement events and help address the isolation of elderly people, and their limited access to the coast.

A SenseOceans toolkit will be co-created by the group as a template guide to replicate this experience in other communities.