This funding was part of a mosaic of funding for a years (March to December) project with Elders wellbeing in the woods. (a years budget is £15,000, 5,000 a term so this was 1/15th of our funding for the year.
Based on 5 years of forest school for Elders in the woods, and now well embedded in Halesworth Community, Elders connects people and nature, builds community and resilience, seeking to reduce lonliness and social isolation in older people living in rural communities.
Beneficiaries come from word of mouth recommendations as well as from various Halesworth service providers such as the Pear Tree, Halesworth Volunteer Cente, Halesworth Demential Carers etc
This year we have embeddeed our activity in exploring the newly incorporated 17 acres of land adjacent to the wood. The Elders became scientists, and witnessed the land over the year. (Previously an arable field of monoculture, it was planted with 6,000 trees with areas left to re-wild).
- We measured the growth of trees, in this drought year
- We studied tadpoles to frogs that appeared in the new pond.
- We studied the grasses that we just walked over before we realised their diversity.
- Using creative methods such as hazpazone and eco-printing we created a community table cloth and individual scarves out of the flowers and grasses of the land.
- We cooked up squash grown in the community garden, dressed in orange, and celebrated squash varieties.
- We integrated with children from Forest School, through whom learned from one about the fossils he found on the land.
https://kindaelders.com/
https://kindaelders.com/2025-elders-well-being-in-the-woods/
There is strong evidence that physical activity and access to nature has positive impact on wellbeing. This is defintely the case here.
- Many elders report that this is the longest they spend out side in any week are are grateful for it
- Utility and usefulness: The Vintage Elders are increasingly involved in supporting the sessions, so giving unexpected utility to some Elders. Many have dusted down those retired skills, like biology, creative writing, drawing, music and express them here
- Physical wellbeing: Every session incorporates some physical movement for example tapping, touch and laughter. The movement and tapping sessions helped everyone to keep mobile and helped with some in between sessions with aches and pains.
- Nature and land connection. They have become fascinated in the development of the land watching its transformation. Some have been involved in planting out of the saplings in the new field. Planting for the future.
- Grief supporting: Some partners or friends have died during this year, and we, the Elder community have supported. Every year we celebrate Samhain when we openly talk about death and dying. We embrace seasonal connecting to the turning of the wheel, Samhain, Solstice, Equinox etc
- Community – this is what the Elders said on the last day of term survey, we are community. This is the strongest element of this project.
- Social connection Elders are bought together from a wide range of social and professional backgrounds, working collaboratively with one another. They now meet outside of the wood, and support each other.
General physical and mental well-being
Support for carers – We give the carer a break, and monitor and tend the partner.
Community cohesion
Creative Skill sharing
Community building and extending
Intergenerational
Challenges
- Insecure grant funding is one of our major challenges. We have debated charging, but each time but decided against as many would not be able to afford the costs and it would give additional administration. Not only would it exclude economically it would negatively impact the social mix and dynamics of the Elders group. Only two of Kinda’s 8 business elements are grant funded, the rest are financially independent.
- The weather can be challenging, to decided to cancel for example with high winds. The Elders rock up in foul and fair weather,
- Food and providing food. We do all the food preparation ourselves which is costly in time and money, but we feel it is such an important element of the day to provide and share a hot soup lunch. It supports health and nutrition and sense of community.
- Challenge to create a fully inclusive programe for a diverse range of elders needs.
I am applying for grant funding now to start again in March.
We plan to embrace 4 main projects to continue our work relating to the land
- to plan and plant a forest garden on the new land adjacent to the Kaliwoods woodland – using Elders design skills
- To learn about wild clay using clay from the land (Tamlin led) Kaliwoods
- To build a loom within the wood to weave using wood and material dyed with natural dyes (Kally led) (Kaliwoods woods)
- To build and utilise a pole lath in the wood using hazel and ash (Worlingham woods)
- to plant willow to build a willow bender on the land
P, with mild learning difficulties, facial disfigurement and some physical health issues, lives alone, is socially isolated, started to come to Kinda Forest school a year ago. His past work was as a warden for Suffolk Wildlife Trust in Minsmere – he was there during the 87 storm, si he is comfortable with woodland ways. He comes every Thursday, an hour before anyone else, to light the fire. If on the very rare occasion fire is not lit when we arrive, we check up on P, to make sure he is ok. He has taken to being a scientist like duck to water. With a measuring tape he has measured the 8 walnut trees each week, the pond depth, the trees which have died and those survived. He has helped re-plant some of the dead saplings. He has even taken to doing the homework. Social confidence and self esteem have improved. He feels safe with the group enough to talk in the circle without fear of judgement.
He first attended the Home Ed Tribe in Kaliwoods, and began tentatively exploring the flora and fauna, experiementing with foraging and natural remedies. He bought in a metal detector and began discovering the past history of the land, this led to an exciting development…fossils! With the pond dug and dried out this year, it exposed a fresh layer of ancient seabed, full of discoveries. Greg is now an expert in palaeontology. It is inspiring to see the change in confidence and his sense of belonging when he is immersed in the landscape. He feels safe with Elders to shows his finds, and Elders in turn bought in their fossils for him to name and talk about. For G we invited Howard Mottram, retired Suffolk County Council archeologist, to inspect G’s collection and talk to us about fossils on the land, and we had a day of going back in time millions of years
https://kindaelders.com/2025/11/13/22-fossils-with-howard-mottram/
Kinda Elders in the woods 