Using our records to connect through nature

18 May 2026 02:44 PM

To mark The Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Action Week (18–24 May), we want to share reflections on one of our community projects. In this blog post, Sara Griffiths discusses our learnings from recent outreach sessions in care settings as well as an activity suggestion for others.

About this image: Skip as much as you like, poster, artist unknown, dated 1956-57. Catalogue reference: NSC 5/689.

Over the last few months, my team has been busy searching through The National Archives’ image library for images related to spring, including the one above. It’s been quite an enjoyable way to spend an hour or ten. In our search, we tried to identify which pieces of artwork would appeal to the groups we work with, including those with dementia.

According to The Alzheimer’s Society, dementia describes a ‘set of symptoms that over time can affect memory, problem-solving, language and behaviour’. Our outreach work has found that visual records can provide a starting point for resurfacing memories and creating conversation for those affected by the condition. Through our sessions with those in care, we explored this further through sensory and creative activities. These focused on our visual records with seasonal themes and imagery.

These sessions are part of a larger project; we have been developing multi-sensory workshops to engage people with additional needs for over a year. This has included working with groups from Mencap, Age UK and The Alzheimer’s Society. 

Participants enjoying ‘slow’ looking at some of The National Archives’ images of Autumn.

Photo: Sara Griffiths

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