Residents of Sutherland Court get back to natureThe Residents of Sutherland Court in Newcastle which offers residential and residential memory care, for those living with dementia, got back to nature by watching five tiny caterpillars turn into beautiful Painted Red Lady butterflies.

The Residents learnt about how caterpillars grow and crystallise then turn into butterflies.

Daily, the Residents checked on the caterpillars and then on Monday 30th August 2021, two butterflies appeared overnight to the Residents delight.  A further two then appeared the next day, though sadly one crystal didn’t open.

The Residents thoroughly enjoyed watching the tiny caterpillars turn into different stages then seeing the butterflies released into the wild. 

Comments from the day were “Nature is a wonderful thing, it is amazing to watch” and “It is amazing how nature works, thank you for letting us enjoy this experience”.

Judith Snowdon, Wellbeing Coordinator said, “It was fantastic to watch the Residents' reaction on the different stages, even more when the butterflies were released, it was definitely a winning activity, and would recommend all homes to do it”.