SCA Group

Senior citizens from the Brook Day Care Centre in Bitterne Park are planning a bumper crop of vegetables next year.

Each of the centre's five day care groups has set up its own gardening club and is planning to grow cabbages, leeks, lettuce, beetroot, peppers and spring onions.  The winter crops have already been planted and there are plans for more vegetable varieties next spring.

The garden was the idea of SCA Group Community Day Centre Manager Joy Burton, who used extra funding from Southampton City Council to buy specially-constructed wooden planters.  The planters are at waist height, allowing wheelchair users and people with limited mobility to tend the garden without having to stand up. 

(Pictured:  Brook Day Centre attendees Bernard Hawkes, Joan Leach and Janet Marlow with Activities Organiser Beverley Treviss 2nd from right, and the new vegetable garden)

The Brook Centre is a purpose-built, modern day centre run by Southampton based SCA Group on behalf of Southampton City Council.   It offers day care and support to older people with higher physical dependency needs and offers 21 places each day for five days a week.

The centre recently celebrated its first year of opening with party cakes, raffles and prizes for the people who use it.

"As a purpose-built day care centre we have everything we need here on site," said Joy. "We run a wide range of enjoyable activities and entertainment, with a different programme each day and month."

"We received some funding from Southampton City Council for additional activities and it seemed a good opportunity to allow our service users to get outside in the fresh air from time to time.  Many older people enjoy gardening but it becomes difficult when you develop more limited mobility.

"The garden has been a big hit so far and the members of the gardening club get to take some of the produce home from time to time, which makes it even more rewarding."

Further information is available from Wendy Walsh at SCA group on 023 8036 6663 or Southampton City Council Directorate of Health and Adult Social Care Commissioning and Standards Team on 023 8083 3848.