Residents at a care village in Nantwich have teamed up with primary school pupils for a special reading project.
Youngsters have been visiting Richmond Villages Nantwich as part of the ‘Reading for the Planet’ initiative.
It’s a partnership between Bupa Foundation and the National Literacy Trust aimed at sharing the love of stories and reading, with a focus on nature and the environment.
Children from Underwood West Academy in Crewe have been engaging with Richmond residents on natured-themed storytelling sessions with professional storyteller John Hughes.
They also decorated bird houses and bird-feeding stations together, which will be hung up in the villages garden and the playground of Underwood West Academy.
And every child also chose a nature-themed book to take home and keep, and time was spent sharing their book with residents at the home.
One Richmond Village resident Rosemary, said: “I had a lovely time reading with the children. It reminds me of my teaching days and all the happy memories in the classroom.
“The children told me about their favourite stories, and I shared my favourite books as a child.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the children again and hearing about their progress with their reading, it’s a very important activity for the next generation.”
Lynne Griffin, Village Manager at Richmond Villages Nantwich, added: “Our residents love spending time with children, they bring such energy to the home and reading is an activity that everyone can enjoy together.
“We’re so pleased to be involved with this partnership at Nantwich we strive to provide the highest quality care for our residents and play an active role in the local community.
“Seeing the children and our residents bond over the joy of reading and caring for the environment has been so wonderful and rewarding in many ways.”
Nick Oram, Programme Manager of the Young Readers Programme at the National Literacy Trust, added: “Reading is a powerful way to bring people together and reading for pleasure has a huge host of benefits, including supporting both education and wellbeing.
“Sharing stories and being able to choose your own books from a diverse collection is a crucial part of inspiring children to read, and we’re so excited to put both of those things into practice with Bupa.”
The initiative sees some Bupa care homes and Richmond Villages across the country partnering with local primary schools to encourage a love of reading, with a focus the environment and the natural world.
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