Horticulture Therapy is defined by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) as the engagement of a person in gardening and plant-based activities to achieve specific therapeutic treatment goals. People of all ages have been drawn to gardening for its wide array of benefits.

As part of our ongoing commitment resident experiences, our partnership with Monello’s Landscape has extended a Horticulture Therapy classes to those interested. Through Monoello’s 25 years of expertise, they will guide our communities through step by step instructions on plant/herb selection, caring for the garden and explaining the benefits of each plants.

These benefits include:

• Reducing stress and anxiety
• Stimulating the sensory neurons
• Helping visitors develop their sense of cause and effect
• Assisting in the relief and management of physical pain
• Coping strategy, improving mental, emotional and physical wellbeing in the long term
• Aiding the development of fine and gross motor skills, including hand-eye coordination
• Supporting cognitive/intellectual development, including problem solving, memory and language
• Improving the ability to interact, communicate and share with others
• Promoting creativity
• Improving confidence and helps the individual develop a strong sense of empowerment
• Creating beautiful spaces that accommodate people with a wide range of abilities.
• Once our residents grow the herbs, we will be having our culinary department utilize the fresh ingredients in resident’s meals. Bringing this program full circle from learning, planting, and consuming will be the cornerstone to this project.

We can’t wait to see how this program helps all our residents!
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