*Friluftsliv; a handy word meaning open-air living, capturing the Scandinavian approach to living life in harmony in nature.

It’s a warm spring day and I’m following a group of pensioners on a hike through the forest in Sandvika, near Oslo.  I can hear robins and a nuthatch singing noisily overhead and blue and white wood anenomes are blooming on the forest floor.  I have been invited to join the Demmensturgruppe (dementia walking group) organised by Bærum Frivillgsentral, a volunteering organisation for the local municipality.  Having met in town and dropped off by a minibus taxi at the edge of the woods, the group are putting a good foot down and walking with purpose.  Apart from the occassional pause to look at the flowers, watch running deer or chat to hikers coming the other way, the group keep up a good pace until the official lunch stop outside a hytte (cabin).  There is a large firepit we could use, but its warm today, so not required.  Suitably sustained with coffee, sandwiches and Kwik Lunsj, (like a Kit Kat, its an essential part of the hiking experience in Norway, I am told!), we carry on through the woods and farmland to complete an impressive 6.5k.  Many of the group are living with dementia, others are volunteers.  Its not clear who is who, and everyone is carrying the same branded rucksacks, so we’re all part of one big friendly group.

The walk seems typical of the Norwegian approach to getting outdoors.  The group meet every week, all year round and in all weathers.  If its wet, you bring waterproofs and if its snowy, put grips on your boots, there is no reason to stay at home.  I’m told numbers stay stable through the year, (while on Get Out More’s programmes for adults, we see a drop off of participation if its cold or wet, even if the session is mainly inside).  The age group ranges from 60’s – 80’s and people come as long as they feel able, continuing a passion for spending time outdoors that probably began when they were in kindgergarden.  It’s made possible because Karina Sylling from Frivilligsentral spent the day before contacting the families, reminding everyone of the arrangements and organising transport and the local volunteers, one for every two people living with dementia in the group.  What happens when you don’t get enough volunteers? I asked.  It never happens, was the reply.  They often have more than they need! Volunteers love to take part in the walking programme and it is seen as vital for everyone’s wellbeing, not least families and carers, who don’t come on the walks, but enjoy some time to themselves while their loved ones are out for the day.

I arrived in Norway at the weekend, the second week of my Churchill Fellowship, in which I am exploring enabling nature connections for older people.  I came by ferry from Denmark to Oslo, with wonderful views of the Oslofjord.  Nature abounds in Norway, even in the capital, so its no surprise that Norwegians feel close to it, physically and psychologically, but I want to learn more about how this expressed for older people.  I have had a chance to meet respresentatives from local and national organisations and have asked almost everyone about their understanding of ‘friluftsliv‘* (see above).  Its an abstract concept so means different things to different people, but themes around fresh air, hiking and independence were talked about a lot, (and Kvikk Lunsj gets more than a few mentions too!).  Another idea that kept reoccuring was around lived experience; people had naturally grown up playing outdoors, hiking to cabins, skiing in winter, picking berries in summer etc, and there is an expectation to continue that into old age, if at all possible.

At Carpe Diem, an innovative nursing home near Olso, I met Harold Reid Waugh, who works for the Bærum municipality.  Harold explained how they aim to ‘create meaningful content in everyday life, with culture, activities, mastery and fellowship‘ for their senior citizens.  Fot the past few years they have been collaborating with voluntary sector organisations and corporate volunteers to create meaningful community experiences such as their summer beach festivals, which bring together the generations for music, cake, sausage grilling and dancing.  Whilst the vagaries of Norwegian weather have not always been on their side, they know that these events create talking points; one year it rained so hard they had to take the party to an aircraft hanger, another year the shelter in which everyone was sheltering blew away, but the older residents like to joke about how they had ‘survived’ the day!  Not satisfied with just the summer events, they went for a vinter aktivitetsdag (winter activity day) too.

In Norway, as I am frequently told,  ‘Det finnes ikke dårlig være, bare dårlig klære.’  

(There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes – note, it rhymes in Norwegian),

On a very snowy winter day, wrapped in good winter gear, residents enjoyed more sausage grilling, lazer shooting and snowmobile rides.  These might not be the sort of activities familiar to most UK pensioners, but they are what many older Norwegians know, and so they delighted in the chance to enjoy them again.  I enjoyed hearing about a man who, after visiting a ski jump, a hobby they learnt he used to enjoy, talked about that day for the rest of his life.

I like this approach to outdoor experiences for older people; adventures are enabled to continue, not put aside once old age creeps up on you.  There is an expectation that we can be outdoors whatever the weather, because solutions can be found to the problems of rain, wind and snow and if it goes wrong, well that’s just something to laugh about later (see Rainer Newberry’s Type 2 fun).   I feel we need to do more to more to enable nature-based activities for seniors in the UK, based around their lived experiences.  If not snowmobiles, ski jumps and shooting, then gardening, fishing and bird watching, the things today’s generation of older people have grown up with.  I admire the Norwegian can-do attitude and the desire to enable meaningful outdoor experiences for older people, regardless of age and ability.  Whether or not these can be meaningful memories, does not matter, the point is to enjoy the adventure in the moment.

“Families tell us their loved one is so happy when they get home.  They don’t always remember where they’ve been, but they know they had a good time.”

Karina, Frivilligsentral, Bærum