STAFF and residents at Barchester’s Cheshire Grange care home in Lymm were treated to an exciting live streaming tour and talk about Dartmoor Zoological Society, hosted by Education and Research Manager, Francesca Canale-Dow.
Created in the 1960’s as a private exotic animal collection, the Zoo fell into disrepair and was threatened with closure in 2006. Along came Benjamin Mee, who with his family bought the site and set about creating the Zoo as it is today. In 2014, the Mee family kindly donated Dartmoor Zoological Park to Dartmoor Zoological Society (DZS). The charity is responsible for the care of the animal collection as well as conservation, breeding and research projects.
Francesca’s tour explained about life at Dartmoor Zoo so residents could find out what it is like to work in such a demanding yet rewarding world. The talk focused on the Zoo’s beautiful tigers, Dragan and Alisha. Although not related, Dragan and Alisha were both born in 2014 and were hand reared together in Tierpark Zoo in Berlin, they came to Dartmoor Zoo in June 2016 at the age of 18 months.
Residents were able to see the tigers being trained and ask the trainers questions about how they go about looking after them, their daily routines and breeding programme, what they like to eat and do and what happens if they get ill and need care.
Francesca said: “We really enjoyed being able to show the Barchester residents some of the fantastic animals we have at Dartmoor Zoo, we are very proud of the work our brilliant teams do here. We were just so happy to be able to share our passion for wildlife conservation and answer all the residents’ questions.”
Lucy Tomlinson, Resident Experience Manager for Barchester Healthcare, commented: “We have been using technology to keep our residents and patients connected with their loved ones as well as offer live streaming events, entertainment and activities throughout the pandemic. We are excited to work with our amazing partners like Dartmoor Zoo to bring a wide range of different experiences into our homes for all to enjoy, particularly as this talk provided such a lovely opportunity to see the animals and learn all about them.
“Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active and socially connected, providing a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities,” Lucy added.
Activities Coordinator, Jo Eland, said: “Our residents are fascinated by animals and so we were delighted to be able to watch the tigers being trained and to get to know their personalities. It was brilliant to be able to ask Francesca and the team questions about their experiences of working with the animals.
“We’re making our homes as safe as possible and will ensure that all new residents and staff are vaccinated before moving in or working in our homes.”
Cheshire Grange is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Cheshire Grange provides nursing care, residential care, respite care.
