A NEW sensory garden was officially opened recently at St Joseph’s Intellectual Disability Service, Portrane, by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr James Reilly.
Located at House 1 Knockamann, the new garden has been designed as a therapeutic space where residents can relax and enjoy the sensory experiences that it provides.
The Knockamann development is a state-of-the-art customised residential development, comprising 10 bungalows, each with six individual bedrooms and a comprehensive day resource centre.
The sensory garden is home to a water feature, scented plants, a tactile wall, mobiles, mirrors and safe edible plants. It
‘grew’ out of a team project focused on advancing the opportunities for people with intellectual disability at St Joseph’s.
The project was undertaken as part of a module delivered in conjunction with Dublin City University (DCU), titled
‘Improving Service with Co-operative Learning’.
Service user Yvonne Halstead, family member Pat Fogarty and staff member Geraldine Feeney were involved in the project.
The module is facilitated through a cooperative learning team approach with supports provided by academic supervisors and service based mentors.
The teams undertake the module and the learning outcomes are focused on service change and development.
Minister Reilly congratulated everyone involved in the module with Dublin City University.
“It is heartening to see that such initiatives can result in such tangible beneficial results,
? he said.
“It is wonderful to see the transformation of this space into something that offers the residents such a therapeutic experience in a safe environment.
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Pat Fogarty, family member, shared a beautiful recitation describing through poetry the experience that the sensory garden will offer the people who use it.
Eileen Kelly, Area Director of Nursing, outlined that the journey through the project had been as enjoyable as the outcome.
“We wish to extend our thanks and appreciation to the staff in DCU for supporting this project and in particular to Deirdre Corby who has been instrumental in assisting us in achieving our progress to date,
? said Ms Kelly.
“Our sincere thanks to the management, staff, parents and friends, service-users and families at St Joseph’s for all their support.
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