Gardening
Gardening has always been a popular activity in Kingsriver. Our large allotment of land surrounding our centre means we have plenty of space for our horticultural activities. We have an ETB tutor that provides services on-site, as well as trained staff to support participants. In our large garden we grow numerous different fruit and vegetables. These range from but aren't limited to, beetroot, onions, pumpkins , apples and tomatoes. Participants love to get involve. They get the chance to learn and develop many new skills. Kingsriver is also delighted to support local businesses in Stoneyford by supplying fruit and vegetables. The fresh, organic produce at Kingsriver also provides a heathy and plentiful source of ingredients for our cooking activites.
Guided Tour >>>
Day Service participant, Gavin Kirwan, providing us with a guided tour of our main centre in Ennisnag, Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny.
Cooking
Cooking is another hot activity around Kingsriver. Many of the participants enjoy learning and developing their cooking skills, to then in-turn apply these skills outside of the centre. External tutors, as well as staff, provide support to help hone these culinary skills. The participants learn important life skills such as buying ingredients, preparing food , food safety, and various meal recipes.
Education & Life Skills
Person-centered planning is of utmost importance in Kingsriver Community. This core belief enables us to tailor our education and life skills programme to each individual. Kingsriver aims to achieve social-role valorisation (SRV) for all participants. With both these goals in mind our staff tailor participants support plans to learn and develop befitting education and life skills. The areas catered for include, but aren't limited too, numeracy, literacy, money management, driving theory test preparation, healthy nutrition, and daily life education.
Creativity
Creativity is an important aspect to any persons well-being. As Kingsriver has it's roots in furniture making, woodworking crafts have always been the very popular. In recent times participants have been heavily involved in woodcarving. This takes place on our main site in Stoneyford, with external, renowned artist Saturio Alonso, spearheading the activity. To date the participants have had successful displays of their work across a number of gallery's and events all over the country. Aside from wood carving, art's and crafts of a wide variety are very popular. Participants regularly partake in art classes thought by external tutors. They also play an integral role in preparing Kingsriver for any holidays or events throughout the year.
Health & Wellness
Healthy body, healthy mind is a core belief of Kingsriver. Health and wellness is instilled into our daily culture. This is largely implemented by our Health and Wellness Co-Ordinator, Orla O'Leary. Our participants are well educated on the importance of exercise and healthy living in achieving a balanced life. Some activities partaken in include golf, basketball, Zumba, activity fun runs, and our annual 5 kilometre challenge. An additional benefit to all these activities is motor skill development, which can in turn enhance an individuals standard of life.