Over the Hill?
For many people the rural environment conjours up an image of tranquility and natural beauty, an ideal world in which people leave their doors open all day, where neighbours know and look out for each other, and where children run free from the dangers of city life. In reality it is much more complicated than that.
The rural environment is now, arguably, less of a working environment than a place of recreation and leisure, and many villages have been transformed by changes in agriculture and by new residents who commute to work or who can afford to live there only in their holidays or as a place of retirement. For some it offers the best of all worlds, but for others it is a place of limited opportunities, social and financial exclusion. One of the most vulnerable groups is older people, who can find the environment less than idyllic if they struggle to manage inadequate housing, are poor or ill or isolated.
Over the Hill? is a three year project by the Rural Media Company that has been sponsored by the Nationwide Foundation. We have produced a DVD about ways in which people who provide services to rural older people are working with the social and physical environment to help them remain a part of their communities. I have written a report highlighting innovative practice through a series of case studies and the key issues facing older people in the countryside. A drama short and TV documentary will be produced later. All of this has been done with the help of older people and rural agencies.
My role has combined academic skills with sympathetic and creative insight. The Rural Media Company have a great track record in using film and digital media to work with different communities in the countryside to help them realise their own voices and to tell their stories. It is a great project and unique in its focus and approach. Click here for more information.
In working on this project I have built upon work with Age Concern England and local Age Concern organisations and groups, and publications such as The Hidden Store and The Ageing Countryside.
My report has been written to be accessible and interesting. We have used graphic techniques to present an attractive booklet that gets across the energy and enthusiasm of older people working in the countryside as well as the essential facts on how the projects work and what can be learned from them.
You can download a copy of Growing Older in the English Countryside or you can access it from the link below. You may also like to take a look at my report for Age Concern England, called The Hidden Store on the roles that older people play in maintaining socal capital in the countryside. Again, just click on the link below.
Most of us value our independence above all else, and older people are certainly no exception. Click here to read how older people in Shropshire speak about what independence means to them and how it often takes
just a little help in good time to preserve it.
The rural environment is now, arguably, less of a working environment than a place of recreation and leisure, and many villages have been transformed by changes in agriculture and by new residents who commute to work or who can afford to live there only in their holidays or as a place of retirement. For some it offers the best of all worlds, but for others it is a place of limited opportunities, social and financial exclusion. One of the most vulnerable groups is older people, who can find the environment less than idyllic if they struggle to manage inadequate housing, are poor or ill or isolated.
Over the Hill? is a three year project by the Rural Media Company that has been sponsored by the Nationwide Foundation. We have produced a DVD about ways in which people who provide services to rural older people are working with the social and physical environment to help them remain a part of their communities. I have written a report highlighting innovative practice through a series of case studies and the key issues facing older people in the countryside. A drama short and TV documentary will be produced later. All of this has been done with the help of older people and rural agencies.
My role has combined academic skills with sympathetic and creative insight. The Rural Media Company have a great track record in using film and digital media to work with different communities in the countryside to help them realise their own voices and to tell their stories. It is a great project and unique in its focus and approach. Click here for more information.
In working on this project I have built upon work with Age Concern England and local Age Concern organisations and groups, and publications such as The Hidden Store and The Ageing Countryside.
My report has been written to be accessible and interesting. We have used graphic techniques to present an attractive booklet that gets across the energy and enthusiasm of older people working in the countryside as well as the essential facts on how the projects work and what can be learned from them.
You can download a copy of Growing Older in the English Countryside or you can access it from the link below. You may also like to take a look at my report for Age Concern England, called The Hidden Store on the roles that older people play in maintaining socal capital in the countryside. Again, just click on the link below.
Most of us value our independence above all else, and older people are certainly no exception. Click here to read how older people in Shropshire speak about what independence means to them and how it often takes
just a little help in good time to preserve it.
| the_hidden_store.pdf |
| growing_older_in_the_english_countryside_-_may_2011.pdf |
