2010 Healing Hands
Eckard, Sandi, Ann, Jo-Ann, Margaret, Maggie
The value of Horticultural Therapy is recognized for many special populations including children, the sick, the elderly, people in prison, people with addictions, and the mentally ill. This therapy uses plants, gardens, and the natural landscape to improve cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. As many as ten patients take part in this project each session and are assisted to and from the sessions by LHO Auxiliary volunteers who may also stay to assist with the program when required. The sessions are held the last Thursday of each month at 9:30 am and last one to two hours. The OGC volunteers often meet between sessions to discuss projects and items required for those projects.
The patients who attend have various disabilities that temporarily or permanently affect their mobility, speech and cognitive functions. Our goal is to encourage them to socialize and have fun in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere while using their senses of touch, sight, smell, sound and taste (when permitted). This is encouraged through the use of different plant materials (cuttings, bulbs, seeds, water plants, herbs, annuals, perennials, silk plants and evergreens). The mediums are diverse, (soil, water, oasis and peat moss). We use a variety of containers to stimulate sight and touch (clay or plastic pots, ceramic containers, glass vases, pumpkins and metal containers). There are usually decorative items to enhance these projects, (ribbons, pine cones, stick characters, pebbles and sparkles).

There is no set budget for this project. Some of the items were covered by Lakeridge Health and Parkwood Estate and the Oshawa Garden Club volunteers provided plants, cuttings, evergreens, water plants, some containers and some decorative items. In January 2011 we were informed of budget restraints at Parkwood Estate resulting in the cancellation of the Heritage Garden Program. However Lakeridge Health Oshawa and the Oshawa Garden Club have consented to continue with this worthwhile project. The Oshawa Garden Club will make a donation of $200 from their cookbook sales and will also receive a donation of $200 from Margaret Perkin’s Sorority - Beta Sigma Phi, Alpho Rho Chapter. We are contacting service clubs and individuals to support this successful
initiative. If anyone has seasonal decorative containers to donate, it would be appreciated.
On January 27, 2011, two cheques were presented to the project, one from the OGC and one from the Sorority, Beta Sigma Phi, Alpha Rho Chapter. Lakeridge Health Oshawa has also consented to support this worthwhile project.
