Gardening brings ripe harvest of lessons for Mary Bridge patients

By Mark Swart

Therapists at the Mary Bridge Good Samaritan Children’s Therapy Unit (CTU) are using gardening as an innovative way to complement the treatment of young patients with a variety of different conditions.

The garden, located behind the CTU, began nearly five years ago with smaller potted plants. This season it took a large step forward when parents and local businesses provided support to build raised planters that could host a larger variety of vegetables.

What’s the therapeutic value of growing plants? Molly McBroom, an occupational therapist with the CTU, says some of the skills the garden teaches include delayed gratification, impulse control and of course basic gardening skills necessary to keep plants alive and pick them when they are ripe.

“For kids that are very impulsive it has been quite an opportunity for them to have to wait,” McBroom says. “We have a variety of patients and there are lessons for each one.”

Once the vegetables were harvested, they continued to play a role for some patients, as children used them to help overcome issues such as trying new foods and accepting different textures.

“They have to socially interact and present themselves appropriately, and they also have to practice eating some of the things,” McBroom says.

The patients involved in the garden are in the Skill Builders 2 group, which meets weekly. Ages range from 9-11 and all are in long-term treatment to help them manage significant traumas. As part of the group, the students learn how to care for things beyond themselves.

“In some ways they are also learning the social skills to share,” says Liz Goodwin, another occupational therapist at the CTU. “They are learning ways to collaborate and consider what other people want.”

The vegetables were harvested throughout the summer and four donation deliveries were made to Tree House from July-September. The donations included onions, beans, pumpkins, zucchini, lemon and cucumbers.

Overall, McBroom says the parents also played an active role in maintaining the garden, and the patients have enjoyed giving away the plants as much as the process of growing them.

“I think they like having a role and a job, and it feels purposeful,” Goodwin says.

Learn more about the Mary Bridge Good Samaritan Children’s Therapy Unit