Animal assisted learning

Colleagues from Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice, Alzheimer Scotland and NHS Dumfries & Galloway travelled to The Netherlands in August 2019 to see Green Care Farms for people living with dementia in action. Two Green Care Farm, observational visits and an academic meeting with Dr S De Bruin and J Hassick at the University of Wageningen, facilitated the team to experience the research evidence and in-practice reality of established Green Care Farms. We observed people living with moderate to severe dementia participating in everyday farming jobs which included the care of animals, production of crops, production of meals and maintenance of the farm environment. The academic meeting supported the exploration of policy, practice and research underpinning the Green Care Farms for people living with dementia and development of networks for future research. Dissemination of observations on the tour was via social media, and short articles are in the process of publication and submission. Learning from the study tour will inform future research and practice national and international networks.