Gazing at the beautiful spill of purples, reds and yellows, the seniors dig their hands into the dirt. Gripping hand rakes and garden trowels, they turn and rake the soil, being careful to skirt the bases of tender plants. With a sturdy pair of clippers, they snip, snip, snip spent blooms from thriving flowers.
These sensory, therapeutic activities are now the reality at Christian Health Care Center in Lynden — indoor gardens are here!
Eldergrow is an exciting program for long-term care centers that helps connect residents with nature. The key to the program is a portable, indoor cart that allows the elderly to bury their fingers right down into the dirt. With its integrated grow lights, the wheeled cart can be inside all year round, providing 12 months of gardening opportunities for all those who live at our Lynden care center. The garden carts are assembled by disabled veterans and other adults living with disabilities, and they’re designed so that residents can garden whether they’re standing or sitting. CHCC has received two of these carts.
Want to see the Eldergrow program in action? Check out this video.
“We look forward to the hands-on engagement and educational opportunities that the Eldergrow therapeutic horticulture program will bring to our residents,” says Josh Friesen, a social worker who runs many of the therapeutic recreation programs for memory care residents at CHCC.
The reason for bringing the Eldergrow program to CHCC here in Whatcom County is to help the wonderful people who call CHCC home to engage socially, physically and mentally through the tending of and caring for plants. According to the Eldergrow company, which is based in Seattle and nationally known, the system provides benefits seniors by helping to:
- improve motor skills;
- reduce risk factors for dementia;
- elevate moods;
- improve sleep;
- reduce falls;
- reduce agitation;
- improve self-esteem; and
- reduce depression.
The program features a therapeutic sensory garden with plants with varying colors and textures for tactile, sensory input.
Representatives from Eldergrow have visited CHCC to set up and introduce the indoor gardening carts. An Eldergrow educator gave demonstrations for residents, guiding them through garden the process of planting. The Eldergrow team also armed CHCC staff with lessons they can share with residents during activity times. In the future, an Eldergrow educator will periodically visit our Whatcom eldercare center to provide more formal gardening classes and activities for seniors.
Curious what a sensory stimulation session looks like? Here’s a video example.
We can’t wait to see the many benefits this new indoor gardening system will bring. To learn more about the Eldergrow system, check out this video interview from the Garden Time TV show or visit the Eldergrow website.
