168: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill - Episode 168168: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill - Episode 168
UK Health Radio Podcast
Pete Hill talks with Rebekah Churchyard about creating Canada’s first care farm for people living with dementia and how nature, sensory gardens and farm tasks can support dignity, joy and respite. They also touch on the Dutch care farm model and Rebekah’s efforts to help others start similar projects.
31:57•15 May 2026
Growing Dignity: Care Farming and Dementia with Rebekah Churchyard
Episode Overview
- Care farms give people with dementia meaningful outdoor activities and a chance to contribute, rather than being confined indoors.
- Sensory gardens and “look and listen walks” use sight, sound, touch and smell to support communication, even for non‑verbal participants.
- Nature‑based programmes can boost mood, reduce frustration and support a stronger sense of identity and autonomy.
- Care farms also provide vital respite for care partners, who see their loved ones return home with smiles, stories and sometimes bouquets or vegetables.
- The Dutch care farm model shows how integrating health, social care and farming can create sustainable, community-based support.
“Just because you have dementia doesn’t mean that you don’t want to give back and be meaningful, right, in your community.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against dementia? This conversation on The D Word with host Pete Hill and guest Rebekah Churchyard shines a light on a very different way to support people living with dementia – through care farming.
Rebekah, founder of Canada’s first care farm for people with dementia in Guelph, Ontario, shares how her grandparents’ experience and her social work and gerontology studies pushed her to “look for something different.” Instead of locking people indoors, she asked a simple question: “Gosh, shouldn’t there be a different way?” Listeners get a clear picture of what a care farm day actually looks like.
Rebekah walks Pete through mornings in a half‑acre sensory garden, task boards on whiteboards, and “look and listen walks” across 165 acres, where members point out planes, birds, crops and seasonal changes. The focus is on senses, dignity and purpose, whether that’s planting, making bouquets for care partners, or growing food for the local food bank. There’s plenty of warmth and humour too – like the impeccably dressed member who turned flower crowns into a must‑have fashion accessory.
Rebekah keeps bringing the conversation back to identity and autonomy, arguing that “just because you have dementia doesn’t mean that you don’t want to give back and be meaningful.” The episode also touches on the Dutch care farm model, funding challenges, and Rebekah’s efforts to share what she’s learned through a course on starting care farms and an online platform, so others can replicate the idea.
If you’re interested in fresh approaches to dementia support, personhood, and nature‑based care, this gentle yet practical chat may get you thinking: could more people with dementia be outside, active and contributing more than we assume?
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