Benefits of bird-watching
Budgies, parakeets, magpies, crows or parrots – regardless of the type – backyard bird watching is said to help keep the minds of people with dementia active and socially engaged. Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria last week announced a new special edition eBook which promotes bird-watching as a beneficial activity for people with dementia, their carers and families.
Budgies, parakeets, magpies, crows or parrots – regardless of the type – backyard bird watching is said to help keep the minds of people with dementia active and socially engaged.
Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria last week announced a new special edition eBook which promotes bird-watching as a beneficial activity for people with dementia, their carers and families.
The eBook Bird Watching in My Back Yard, the brainchild of Melbourne-based men Ron Smith and co-author Bob Winters, is an online publication written as a conversation piece and designed as a project book for Australian families.
President of Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria, David Galbally, says bird-watching brings together a “simple, low impact, activity with a great excuse for [elderly people] and kids of all ages to get active outside, explore, have fun and learn about the birdlife thriving in our own back yards”.
A way for the whole family to enjoy being outdoors together, the eBook is designed to be used on both notebooks and iPads to allow people to take it outside while enjoying their garden.
The eBook focuses on 24 of the most common birds in Australian backyards, and conveniently, the pages are easily printed, to be cut and used as project material or to create posters and bird-watching diaries.
Past research suggests activities such as bird-watching are important because they help a person remain connected to the world around them. Activities such as these are particularly important for people with Alzheimer’s to continue to enjoy outdoor activity experiences.
