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Coronavirus (COVID-19) CARE Update

Hello everyone, I hope you are all staying safe and being careful in these worrying times. Here at CARE we are keeping up to date with all current government guidelines and we would like to reassure everyone that we are taking all precautions to safeguard everyone accessing the project.

CARE is currently open to help support vulnerable children and those of key workers. We are however asking anyone who shows symptoms of Coronavirus to avoid coming to CARE and follow current government guidelines, which are to self-isolate at home and seek guidance from the NHS by calling 111.

We will keep you all up to date with any changes at the project but please get in touch if you are worried or have any questions. By working together, we can all do our bit and get through this.

During this difficult period in time our mental health will be tested and its important to seek help if you are at all worried. Please follow the below link for a brilliant article on protecting your mental health.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51873799

For more advice and information on Coronavirus specifically please take a look at these links:

https://www.gov.uk/…/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-t…

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/…

Thanks again, stay safe and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!

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Stay connected:
Quick final note to say that we are posting lots of updates on our facebook pages and web to keep you in the loop on new courses going forwards, ideas to try at home and some wellbeing tips too.  Please take a look.

www.facebook.com/chaseaquaruralenterprise

Fiveways to wellbeing:
Connect: talk listen, be there and feel connected
Be active: one form of exercise a day outside you home, lots of exercise ideas on-line
Take notice: the birds, your garden, your family and friends
Keep learning: embrace new learning opportunities on-line?
Give: Your care and thoughts to yourself and others, simple words and asking 'are you OK today'

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Please could I ask anyone who wasn't with us last week if they could feedback  using the box below, or ring me, text, email or facebook with some comments on the following:
Your course - did you enjoy it, feel safe, made good progress, felt listened to, developed personal confidence and skills.  What is the impact of the course on you and your next steps.
Thank you.
Contact details:

Carol Parkes 07772 273033

email: carolparkes@chaseaquaruralenterprise.com

www.facebook.com/chaseaquaruralenterprise

www.chaseaquaruralenterprise.com

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End of course feedback and review
Hello everyone, feels a little different this week as I am at CARE writing this and thinking about you all.  Hope that you are all well and keeping safe.  I know that some of you will have caring responsibilities too but please don't forget to ask for any help that you might need.  If there is anything that Brad or I can do to help you know where we are.  Please stay in touch - phone, text, Facebook, Web, What's App to name a few.
In respect of our end of course feedback from Carl and the CARE staff team - without doubt there has been a huge contribution and growth in self-confidence, teamwork, ability to take on board new ideas, to listen and so many new things learnt and concepts that will be valuable to you as you take your next steps. The growth in you all has been amazing - our teamwork challenges have been a great demonstration of that too.

We have completed your learning plans which I will post back to you as well as your course certificates.

Please remember to stay in touch - and if you need any support moving forwards with your next steps - further learning, volunteering, employment then please ask.
I will post a feedback form for anyone who wasn't able to complete it last week, as well as a reminder about out five ways to wellbeing at this challenging time.
Stay safe.
Best wishes.
Carol & Carl and all at CARE

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Having completed the first half of this challenge two weeks ago we are on track to complete it tomorrow.  Fantastic teamwork from everyone, some great shared skills and prior experience too coming out.  It was great to see just how far everyone had developed individually in terms of skills and confidence, also as a team.  Sadly we will be without out team leader Lorely tomorrow who is recovering from a cold but I know everyone will complete the project and make her proud!
Will upload some photographs once we have finished.
Well done everyone.
There is some useful information on the gardening for the disabled site which gives particular ideas and guidance on creating raised beds - worth a look.

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Gardening for Disabled Trust

Gardening for Disabled Trust aims to help people back into gardening in spite of disability. We give out grants so that people can adapt their gardens and make gardening possible. Our clients tell us that it can change their lives, enhance their well-being and help them defy their disability.

The charity is entirely staffed by volunteers. Based in Kent, the Garden of England, we award grants to individuals and groups across the UK, and support people with all kinds of mental and physical challenges. We believe we are the only charity which does this.

''It has made such a difference to me, not only can I access my garden and enjoy tending it,, I have been able to benefit from the sense of well-being that the social aspect of gardening brings''

Dawn, Herts

Received a grant to make her garden accessible and entered her sweet peas in the village competition!

''Thanks to a grant from GDT, we were able to transform an unusable space into a beautiful garden, used every day. We are now able to grow vegetables in the green house...as well as planting in the rockery''

Kisharon, London

Works at a support centre for people with learning difficulties

''I can now finally walk safely down the path to my shed.....thank you for helping me get into the garden of my dreams''

Martin, Somerset

Received a grant towards a path

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The Gardening for Disabled Trust Gardening for Disabled Trust aims to help people back into their gardens despite disability. We give out grants to help people adapt their gardens. They tell us that this can change their lives, and help them defy their disability. The charity is entirely staffed by volunteers.

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This is something that is so important towards taking that next step - realising what you want to do and why, finding out how to get there is where we all come in.  I have attached a couple of really useful documents that we will be covering in our session on the 19th.  For anyone who can't make it, or finds it helpful to have a good look at home too please download them, read through and have a go filling them in.  Just email me or ring of you have any questions at all that I can help with: carolparkes@chaseaquaruralenterprise.com
Tel: 07772 273033

Good luck.

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Some great  information, advice and some stunning gardens to view.  It is surprising just how many opportunities there are and ways to get involved, particularly volunteering.
Please take a look at the website of you feel the trip has motivated you to take the next step.

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Enjoy a great day out at Trentham

Visit the award-winning Trentham Gardens, for shopping and eating out, peace and quiet, fun and action!

Indulge yourself at the newly expanded Trentham Shopping Villagewith shops, cafés, restaurants and the vast Trentham Garden Centre, it's perfect for shopping.

Get involved in one of our fantastic events.

Walk with 140 Barbary macaques at the Monkey Forest. Amaze yourself as you take on Treetop Adventures. Stay over at the Premier Inn Hotel.

Bring your friends and family to this central location - near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

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Welcome to The Trentham Estate | Trentham Estate

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Visit the award-winning Trentham Gardens, for shopping and eating out, peace and quiet, fun and action! Indulge yourself at the newly expanded Trentham Shopping Villagewith shops, cafés, restaurants and the vast Trentham Garden Centre, it's perfect for shopping. Get involved in one of our fantastic events.

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Capability Brown garden design at Weston Park

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With its classical architecture, set in stunning 'Capability' Brown parkland, Weston Park is an unequalled location for your business event, a professional conference venue, picture perfect wedding venue, or memorable setting for your special celebration. Offering 5-star service, award winning cuisine and luxury accommodation, you'll find Weston surprisingly easy going and relaxed. Welcome home.

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Weston Park Shropshire. Events, wedding venue, meetings

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With its classical architecture, set in stunning 'Capability' Brown parkland, Weston Park is an unequalled location for your business event, a professional conference venue, picture perfect wedding venue, or memorable setting for your special celebration. Offering 5-star service, award winning cuisine and luxury accommodation, you'll find Weston surprisingly easy going and relaxed.

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Fabulous opportunity to meet with head gardener Martin who has worked at the Park for over 50 years. He provided a really useful insight into the garden design, choice of plants, team tole and skills, risk assessing trees and talked about career opportunities in horticulture, training available and job opportunities at Weston Park within the gardening team.
Despite the cold wind the sunshine was welcome and everyone had a great day. Thank you to Weston Park for hosting this opportunity. Some excellent photography by Mark.
Features of the park to explore on further visits include the formal Victorian garden, the walled rose walk. And the  Shrewsbury walk. Capability Brown is a famous name in the gardens and his work on creating a fabulous garden landscape has proved to have stood the test of time and is still celebrated after many years.

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Some fabulous floristry skills on display with learners creating some lovely, individual springtime table decorations with greenery collected from the hedgerow and a range of lovely shrubs and trees looking ready for spring too with catkins, pussywillow, and fab twisted willow. Spring flowers adding colour were daffodils, roses and carnations.

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Another great team work challenge completed

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Another great team work challenge completed

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Composting challenge

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Working in teams of three learners put their knowledge and research skills together using iPads and gardening books to solve a gardening quiz to Place that Plant - three soil types - clay. Sandy and loam. A selection of primrose. Hellebores, epimeduims, lavender and penstemon. Some great discussion and feedback, and fun! Well done to everyone.

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The English Garden - Clay Soils:  Top Ten plants.

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The English Garden - Clay Soils:  Top Ten plants.

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These have been recommended by many gardeners and some are great for repeat planting to create a large display bed, formal gardens often use this design technique - Weston Hall, Stapeley - both have lots of space to fill and need bold blocks of colour.

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There are plenty of lovely plants for clay soil. Rather than fight it, why not cultivate plants that grow well on clay soil?

If your garden soil errs on the clay side then growing plants for clay soil will save you a lot of effort. By growing plants that thrive in these conditions you won't have to put in hours of work to try and change the soil.

Clay soil can be heavy and hard to dig. It's prone to waterlogging in winter and cracking in summer, but it's also nutritious and moisture retentive. It's far better to grow plants that thrive in clay soil and the good news is that there are some great plants to choose from. Here are our top plants for clay soil.

10 plants for clay soil:

Flowering currant flowers are dainty and delicate, adding finesse to the garden in late spring. The plant itself if tough, vigorous and quick-growing. This shrub will quickly establish in clay soil and can reach over 2m in height. Prune after flowering in summer if the plant gets too big.

Crab apples are superb all round plants for clay soil. A crab apple in full bloom is one of the most picturesque spring scenes. Malus hupehensis produces a particularly graceful display of white blossom in spring and colourful fruit in autumn. There's the opportunity to make crab apple jelly, too.

Often referred to as 'elephants ears' due to their leaves which look similar! Bergenia is an evergreen perennial that produces spires of pink or red flowers in spring. A good plant for ground cover, it looks at its best planted in a block because the flowers have more impact in big numbers. A very tough plant for clay soil and tolerant of partial shade too.

A tremendous shrub to place near the front of a border. It shows off thousands of tiny flowers in summer, held together in tight clusters. Spiraea japonica is not fussy and grows well on clay soil. It will also tolerate drought well once established, after a couple of growing seasons in a border. The flowers attract bees and butterflies.

Viburnum is an underrated evergreen shrub for clay soil. The opening of its white flowers announces the end of winter and provides a pretty backdrop for a border in early spring. Dense, compact growth make this a useful plant for screening off a view and creating a sense of enclosure in the garden.

Lilacs are tough shrubs that often get overlooked, perhaps because they often don't look attractive in the garden centre. Though their flowering time is fairly short, a lilac in late spring is a glorious sight. The scent of the blooms is delicious. They make glorious cut flowers.

A sweetly scented honeysuckle is a true summer treat and this species of honeysuckle grows well on clay soil. A scented climber is always a memorable plant, the perfume easy to access, especially if you grow it by your front door. The variety 'Serontina' has flowers that display a vivid deep red colouring.

Pulmonaria is tolerant of shade as well as being one of the top perennial plants for clay soil. This spring-flowering, low-growing perennial is a good source of food for early bees. Its cheerful blue flowers make beautiful accompaniments to daffodils in spring. The distinctive dotty foliage can be refreshed if you cut it back in early summer.

This is a very useful edging plant for clay soil. It produces wispy stems of yellowish green flowers in early summer, that create a 'frothy' look from a distance. Low-growing, Alchemilla mollis is a useful plant for covering the bare stems of 'leggy' shrubs and roses. It also grows well in partial shade.

1. Rose 'Roald Dahl'

All roses like clay soil. Choose a repeat-flowering variety and you'll be rewarded with at least two flushes of flowers each growing year. Released in 2016, 'Road Dahl' is a repeat-flowering rose. It grows well on clay-soil, is very free-flowering and has a strong scent. This rose was launched by David Austin Roses and £2.50 from the sale of each rose will be donated to Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity.
Find our favourite plants with true blue flowers here. Don't forget to sign up for our monthly The English Gardener newsletter, bringing you all the grow your own advice you need throughout the year. Sign up on the right of this article. Need plants or gardening kit? Visit our directory of suppliers.

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Top 10 plants for clay soil - The English Garden

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If your garden soil errs on the clay side then growing plants for clay soil will save you a lot of effort. By growing plants that thrive in these conditions you won't have to put in hours of work to try and change the soil. Clay soil can be heavy and hard to dig.

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If you are unsure about what type of soil your plant needs, where to go to see it in full bloom, how trim it back and ensure new growth then you are best to look at the RHS web site. So much useful information including learning courses, design tips, and a really fab interactive gardening diary that you can use. Check out the links.-

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Gardening tips & advice for growing your own plants, fruit & veg / RHS Gardening

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Need some help and advice about your garden? Search the advice from RHS to find out everything from growing your own plants, fruit & veg to winter pruning.

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We will be looking at these in our session on 7.2.20.  Lots to think about and consider.
Pause for thought - "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." – Ryunosuke Satoro

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Its good to know what is expected of you as an employee/team member and what you can expect from your employer.  The HSE.GOV.UK website has lots of really useful information and advice.  Check out the risk assessment information that we will be using for this week's session:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/

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1. Overview

As an employer, you're required by law to protect your employees, and others, from harm.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the minimum you must do is:

identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)

decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)

take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn't possible, control the risk

Assessing risk is just one part of the overall process used to control risks in your workplace.

For most small, low-risk businesses the steps you need to take are straightforward and are explained in these pages.

If your business is larger or higher-risk, you can find detailed guidance here.

If you're self-employed, check if health and safety law applies to you.

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Managing risks and risk assessment at work

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As an employer, you must make a 'suitable and sufficient assessment' of risks to your employees' health and safety, and risks to others because of your work

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There's lots of really useful info on the Gardeners World web site, plus some good ideas showing how to test the soil without a costly kit, simply using vinegar and baking soda.  Well worth a look!
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-test-your-soil-ph/

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Preparing the ground: teamwork sees gardening task completed!

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Preparing the ground: teamwork sees gardening task completed!

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Taking the first steps to your goals are really important so take time to appreciate what skills you can contribute to your team. Some great team skills noted this afternoon as we learnt exactly what our soil types were and how we could improve them. The afternoon was spent researching and designing composting ready for our team challenge next Thursday.
Some great ideas shared and many looked at too on @'pinterest

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Today we have learnt how to use a Ph test kit to check how acidic or how alkaline the soil is. Also we have learnt that the Ph level and different soil types will affect how plants grow and how it affects the plant to flourish.

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Hub of Hope - support as we take our first steps

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Hub of Hope - support as we take our first steps

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A new national mental health database,

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Today two teams "The Four Palleteers" and "Bob's Bin" have made two very different compost bins out of old pallets. The team leader of "The Four Palleteers" Marc said "it was good to have the experience of being a leader and something I have to work on.  To evaluate more in the project but overall the task was completed and it was a really good day." The team leader of "Bob's Bin" Bob said "we worked well as a team and all had a input. And produced a new, useful project at the end. "

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All of these are local opportunities, please look through them carefully as they could be right for you.  If you need help just ask:
1.  Rainbow Caresolutions - Recruiting now for carers, Cannock 01543 721006. Good rates of pay, full training provided.

2.  Walsall College in Cannock, Free courses for Job Seekeers - contact 09122 663000  email: info@walsallcollege.ac.uk or call into Tradmark House, 5 Hyssop Close, Cannock 9 - 4 week days.

3.  Stafford and South Staffs Work Clubs
Tel: 01902 696 228 www.BBOSTAFFS,ORG

4.  Shaw Trust Work and Health Programme
Tel: 0800 389 0222; support@shaw-trust.org.uk

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Every Thursday 10am - 3 pm.
Ring 07825 912500 or 07392 081715.  They can help with your career prospects, free training in your area, how to create a successful CV and cover letter and apprenticeships.

Cannock Library, Manor Avenue, Cannock WS11 1AA

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Course Induction - Getting you started .......

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Course Induction - Getting you started .......

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Welcome to our supported learning course at CARE. We are looking forward to helping you to set your own goals, learn something new, improve your well being and enjoy taking part. We want you to feel confident, safe and supported. Please ask any questions you have to your course tutors Carol, Brad and Tracy.

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Useful Learner Information -  British Values, Protect yourself, Feeling and Staying Safe:

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Useful Learner Information -  British Values, Protect yourself, Feeling and Staying Safe:

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https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Community-learning-service/ProviderInfo/Safeguarding-and-Prevent-duty-overview.aspx

Using the internet safely and protectiing personal information:
https://www.deliveringforscotland.gov.uk/at-home/internet-safety/

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Community Learning adopt new catchphrase:

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Community Learning adopt new catchphrase:

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Learn
Evolve
Achieve
Progress

I hope that our new STEM course will help you to LEAP ahead with your own learning and personal well-being goals.