Narrabri celebrates Dementia Action Week with a community rock hunt

The Narrabri Dementia Alliance found a creative way to celebrate Dementia Action Week by hosting a Dementia Rock Hunt the whole community could get involved in.

The Alliance, along with Narrabri Health staff, The Whiddon Group aged care facility residents and staff and carers of people living with dementia, came together to paint more than 100 rocks and then hide them along popular walkways for children and their families to find.

Narrabri rocks hunt - Tricia, Michelle, Ros, Kylie and Trudy

The rock hunt was shared on local Facebook pages and the community were encouraged to get active, hunt for the rocks and share photos of their finds on social media.

Narrabri Dementia Alliance committee chair Kylie Finlay said the rock hunt proved to be a great way to raise awareness for Dementia Action Week and was well received by the community.

“Rocks were inscribed on the underside with hashtags Dementia Action Week 2021 and dementia awareness, and pictures were uploaded to the NSW Rocks Facebook page,” she said.

Among the colourful collectables were two specially painted golden rocks, entitling the lucky finders to a small gift courtesy of Narrabri Hospital.

“From our small community we had a lot of positive comments and everyone seemed to have fun. The event made for a fun post-lockdown activity for community members of all ages.”

Are you interested in what this could look like in your community?

The first step is to become a Dementia Friend. Find out more at dementiafriendly.org.au or call our National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500.