Welcome to the third instalment of Culture Box!

Delivery 1

Public Health Guidance Resources

by Lynne Phair, Gail Elliot, Kara Gratton & Jim Watt

Below are links to updated public health guidance resources regarding Covid-19. They have been specifically tailored for people living with dementia who live in care homes to give them greater understanding of the current restrictions.

Included are guidebooks on keeping safe in residential care settings during the pandemic, one which has been designed specifically for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

There are also posters concerning health & hygiene, self-isolation and social distancing that can be downloaded and printed to put up in your care home. A selection of these posters are shown in the slideshow below.

Posters

Nature and Wildlife of Australia Eucalyptus Forest Region

To introduce this box’s tree, we would like to share with you this video that shows the different types of animals that live in the Australian Eucalyptus Forest region and depend on these trees for food and shelter.

The video features animals and birds that are native to Australia such as kangaroos, flying foxes, koalas, emus, cockatoos, and kookaburras.

Can you recognise any of the animals? Have you ever seen them before? What do they remind you of?

Blue Gum Tree by Martin Jordan

Oil on Canvas

A print of this painting with its corresponding activities is included in this month’s physical box.

This month, Martin has painted the life cycle of the Blue Gum tree, a type of Eucalyptus tree. There are many varieties of Blue Gum Eucalyptus tree found all over Australia. They are evergreen, can grow up to 30 meters tall and can be identified by their cream/ grey/ brown bark that splits to make stripy patterns.

Martin is a visual artist who specialises in botanical and zoological painting. To find out more about him click here.

 Delivery 2

 Laughing Kookaburra Video

Laughing Kookaburras, like the Eucalyptus tree, are native to Australia.

Play the video and listen to the sounds of the Laughing Kookaburra and have a think about:

• Do you think that the name fits the bird?

• What kinds of things make you laugh?

• Who makes you laugh?

• Do you know any good jokes?

Eucalyptus Tree by Martin Jordan

Colouring-in Activity

This activity is included in this month’s physical box.

The painting shows young leaves, which are dark and rounded, mature leaves which are paler, longer and pointed. Also in the picture are the blue capsules from which the flowers appear. Later, when the flowers die, seeds develop and the capsules lose their blue colour and turn brown, shown in the top right-hand side of the painting.

The Blue Gum tree in your line drawing is shown with a person standing beside it so that you can see how tall it grows – up to 130 feet (40 metres) tall. That’s the height of TEN double decker buses stacked one on top of each other!

The line drawing with tree, mature leaves and blue flower capsules is for you to colour in.

Delivery 3

The Sock Snowman Challenge by Mitber

This activity and the needed materials are included in this month’s physical box. You will only need glue and toy stuffing e.g. shredded paper, to complete this activity

This activity by Mitber challenges you to create a snowman out of material you can find around your home. This is a fun activity that encourages creativity and can be enjoyed by both residents and carers. In this month’s box we have provided the sock, elastic bands, ribbon, felt pieces and pompoms.

Mitber supports communities to live well through the arts by providing an innovative wrap around service of direct and distant support to improve participants’ wellbeing. They offer a mix of direct sessions, a library of physical resource boxes, online training and online support for activity providers.