Sarnia home sees positive results from engaging residents in horticulture
Engaging residents in horticulture is beneficial because we all have a connection to nature
Monday March 8, 2010 -- Deron Hamel
Residents at Afton Park Place in Sarnia were recently engaged in a program aimed at introducing them to various aspects of horticulture, which provided people — especially those with a cognitive impairment — with calming benefits, says Vicki Di Giovanni.

Di Giovanni, the manager of the life enrichment department at the Steeves & Rozema-owned long-term care home, says the visit by Lynne Bidner of the The Nature Connection was beneficial because every person has some connection to nature, whether they realize it or not.

For example, during her visit with residents, Bidner, who opened The Nature Connection in 2009, used the image of a turtle as a prop and ask people if they felt like a turtle sometimes. Residents, particularly those who have a cognitive impairment, responded well to this imagery, which Di Giovanni says allowed them to reconnect to nature.

Another example of a question that might be asked is “Do you like looking at flowers?” If a resident says they enjoy looking at flowers, they can be shown flowers in a garden, which might trigger memories and generate discussion.

Bidner, who formerly worked in the activity department at a long-term care home, also provided an in-service to staff members on the benefits of horticulture therapy, as well as how to introduce a nature club into a long-term care home and how activity departments can use horticulture in everyday activities.

“What I personally learned from this is that people who say that they aren’t involved in nature or who don’t like to garden — well, they are involved in nature, there is nature all around us,” Di Giovanni says.

“We use (nature) to relax, most people like to go for a walk or even sit by the river — that’s all nature.”

Di Giovanni says based on the positive results she saw from residents, coupled with staff interest in horticulture, she is considering launching a program aimed at providing residents with the benefits of horticulture.

Bidner says horticultural programs are beneficial to people with dementia. Everyone, she adds, has “plant-based experiences” throughout their life involving touch, taste, smell, sight and sound.

“They leave markers in our memory and are more apt to be recalled later in life. Nature has a way of nurturing and promoting calm. Humans are instinctively responsive to the natural world — my job is to understand how that differs person to person and use it to the client’s best interest and to promote a sense of well-being.”

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