A Garden Path May Lead To Learning And Better Health

Garden Club of North Carolina Inc. grows remarkable garden therapy project
At Raleigh’s Gov. Morehead School for the Blind

ST. LOUIS (May 19, 2010)—Enjoying the beauty of a leisurely stroll in a garden on a spring day is something most people take for granted. But, as members of National Garden Clubs across the nation can attest, for many individuals, the sensory delights offered by a garden can add up to much more than a pleasant way to pass the time. In fact, the concept of “garden therapy” as a tool to improve the lives of people of all ages and abilities is gaining ever-wider acceptance. Nowhere is this more apparent than at a well-respected school for visually impaired children in Raleigh, N.C., according to Renee Blaschke, of Smithville, Texas, president of the 200,000-member National Garden Clubs Inc.

Thanks to a cooperative effort launched in 1960 between the Gov. Morehead School for the Blind and the Garden Club of North Carolina Inc., more than 1,000 visually impaired children from across the state have enjoyed the unique experience of an on-site garden sanctuary designed specifically for them. Called the Martha Franck Fragrance Garden, it offers students from kindergarten to grade 12 a nurturing outdoor-learning classroom environment. In addition, the garden is used in the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind’s rehabilitation services for blind and visually impaired adults.

Sara Brooks, NGC Garden Therapy national chairwoman and resident of Whiteville, N.C., says that in keeping with National Garden Clubs’ ongoing garden therapy program, the garden began as a regional project and a committee was appointed by the 10,000-member Garden Club of North Carolina Inc. to plan and implement the space. To date, the committee has raised more than $200,000 and continues in its fundraising efforts to support additional improvements. Perhaps more importantly, local garden club members have supplied innumerable hours of volunteer labor and leadership efforts toward designing, installing, maintaining and “growing” the garden. Plans to develop a tactile garden that will feature statuary and information depicting the history of North Carolina currently are in the works.

The school’s educators say the fragrance garden has proven to be a tremendous asset to students and programs. “It’s vital to provide a safe environment in teaching the visually impaired and to help them experience scent, sound and touch,” says Barbria Bacon, Morehead School director. “The garden provides students with the confidence to take the risks necessary to develop independent living skills and provides a safe, outdoor experience in which to tackle life’s many challenges.”

Bacon says that the 1.1-acre garden also was designed to appeal to those with multiple physical challenges. Wide brick paths with bull-nosed edges are easily navigated by wheelchair or assistive walking devices and promote self-dependence. The paths lead to four distinct areas-a rose garden, a butterfly garden, a woodland garden and a texture garden—that beckon further exploration. A fountain helps students and visitors isolate and identify sound and direction. Directional signs and the plaques that identify many species of plants and flowers are inscribed in Braille. The recent addition of a culinary garden features herbs and vegetables in raised beds and was created to help cultivate an interest in gardening on vocational and recreational levels.

“Gardeners have long recognized that gardens can play an important role in physical and mental health,” says the NGC’s Blaschke. “Our members across the nation now work with a wide spectrum of hospitals, veterans’ facilities, eldercare programs, mental health institutions, schools and prisons to implement healing garden therapy programs as most appropriate and effective for each facility.”

In addition to the Garden Therapy program, other service projects offered by National Garden Clubs Inc. include Habitat for Humanity Landscaping, Golden Days, Plant It Pink, Blue Star Memorials, school gardening initiatives for children, flower shows, and a host of civic beautification and improvement efforts. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in St. Louis, NGC (www.gardenclub.org) has 200,000 members connected through a vast network of 6,300 local clubs, 50 state clubs, and a National Capital area club, as well as a sizable group of international affiliates. NGC is the largest volunteer organization of its type in the world.

 

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Martha Franck was inspired to create a garden for the visually impaired after meeting Helen Keller, the noted American author, lecturer and advocate for the visually impaired and disabled, in 1935. The garden originally was installed on the grounds of the Adult Rehabilitation Center for the Blind at Butner, N.C. In 1984, the garden was dismantled and relocated to the campus of the 165-year-old Gov. Morehead School, the eighth-oldest school for the blind in the U.S.

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Photos are available upon request. Please contact:

Media contact: Patricia Binder, 636-441-0022, or Debra Finkel, 314-878-1213, Finkel & Binder Communications LLC, agent for National Garden Clubs Inc.