Healing Children Through Gardening
Author: Barbara Rees
The Family Crisis Center is a shelter and residential treatment
facility serving over 840 children per year. In 1978 the Center
began to consolidate the needs of youth in crisis to eliminate
the shuttling of youth to several locations for therapeutic,
educational, recreational, social, and cultural services while
they were in trauma caused by being in abusive and neglectful
households. The Center is a collaboration of the Denver Department
of Human Services, Denver Police Department, Denver Mental
Health Center, the Mental Health Corporation of Denver and
Denver’s Youth Advocacy Center.
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“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put
in order.”
— John Burroughs
The Family Crisis Center in Denver, Colorado takes these words to
heart: its “growing” therapeutic gardening project is ample evidence.
Thanks to a 3-year grant from LiveWell Colorado (Kaiser-Permanente,
with participation from Colorado’s Physical Activity and Nutrition
Program), the Center develops and implements garden-based strategies
that promote health and wellness. It was started in 2005 after the
then clinical director expressed interest in revitalizing a small
garden space at the center so youth could have hands-on nutrition lessons, access to fresh produce, and an understanding of where
food
comes from.
The youth at FCC range in age from 10-18 and have been referred by
social workers, schools, or the courts as requiring out-of-home placement.
Most are dealing with extreme behavioral and emotional issues, in addition
to being significantly behind in school. Three-hour horticultural programming
is provided every two weeks for individual age groups. The kids learn
about plant parts we eat; identify plant families; perform taste tests;
start worm composting boxes; grow transplants; and much more. The
sessions are short on words, but high on tasks that engage all the
senses.
Since participants may not be there for the entire growing season,
students paint pots that can travel with them, and plant them with
vegetables and flowers. Teachers focus on being non-judgmental, and
encourage group participation in routine tasks to reinforce cohesion,
a sense of pride, and feelings of collective efficacy. The program
is now integrated into the educational curriculum, and is embraced by the
educational coordinator, special education science teacher, and caseworkers
at the Denver Department of Social Services.
The youth-run Farmer’s Market features crops grown by the participants,
and helps them enjoy the rewards of a job well done and pride in being able to share their harvest with others. They spend a good part of the
year planning, planting, nurturing, and harvesting the crop and learning
valuable life lessons along the way.
The Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) helps
the Family Crisis Center to
operate the program. DUG Education Coordinator Judy Elliot says,
“For many of these children this may be the first time they have experienced
success, and a sense of nature’s beauty in their lives.” They can take
this with them into the future, which is brighter thanks to this garden.
Barbara Rees began gardening with youth both as an early childhood
teacher of special needs students and as a parent. She believes gardening
is vital to helping children connect with the earth. She served on
the planning board for the Salida Community Garden and the Board of
Directors of the Chaffee County Boys and Girls Club.
Barbara is a member
of the Kidsgardening Advisory Board. This board of youth gardening
experts and advocates from around the country
provide NGA staff with ideas, suggestions, and feedback for kidsgardening.org
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