Our Wellbeing Service provides an alternative to traditional day care for people with a disability. The focus is on providing people with opportunities to maintain and develop skills and gain the confidence needed to get the most out of life and be as independent as possible.

This is achieved by offering a range of indoor and outdoor activities in a safe, stimulating and welcoming environment.

It’s the ‘sibling’, of sorts, to our other Day Service over in Failsworth – MILES@Ena.

The Wellbeing Service site at Chadderton Hall Park is fantastic and allows for so much creative activity, particularly for those who enjoy working with their hands and love the outdoors.

We have a small, skilled on-site team working with attendees from 9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday through the week.

We are really excited to bring you some news of a project we’ve been working on, in support of our neighbours down the road at Newman RC College.

Jenny (a HLTA from the college) was in touch this summer to let us know of some work happening in Newman’s eco garden, which supports their students’ emotional wellbeing. A renovation project in memory of a dearly-departed colleague Moira Harwood was underway, in time for the start of the new school year when a new outdoor classroom named ‘The Harwood Suite’ would be opening and put to use within the garden grounds.

Jenny asked if we would potentially like to be involved in the project given our past work with the college and with Moira – when that question was put to our regulars at Chadderton Hall Park, the answer given was a resounding “YES!”.

One of our support workers Sharon, explains a bit more…

“It was brilliant to meet Jenny again and discuss what would be needed to renovate the area, and what we could do to help in our Wellbeing Service.

We discussed the large pergola plants, as well as some of the new styles of planters we had been designing and building at Chadderton Hall Park.

Together, we decided on some great additions including picket fence planters and also plants and trees/shrubs for the raised garden beds.”

Now there was a plan, it was time to get creative!

Richard, Lee, David, Matthew and Trevor were instrumental in sizing up what materials we would need before cutting the wood using the chop saw and constructing the picket fence and planters (including the rounding off and finishing of pieces on the electric bench).

There was painting to be done (we chose a classic ‘Dark Oak’ colour) before Paul and Thomas took the lead in terms of potting and planting, choosing some of our best and brightest flowers, plants and shrubs that we felt would look great in their new home.

A final task…

Sharon and co’ made some bird boxes too but left them unpainted, so that the children in Newman’s ‘Eco Group’ could design and decorate the boxes themselves, after discovering the birds most likely to use them.

A big thank you to Jenny for being in touch and to everyone at Newman RC College. It's great to be involved and be able to support such a worthwhile project.

We hope your new suite and renovated garden brings people joy, as they continue to learn and remember Miora and all she brought to your community.