Garden Route Therapy

A view of the garden

I spent the morning volunteering in the Children’s Garden at High Park with the weekly garden drop-in program for families. It is a community garden that has open access and consists of a number of raised beds, shaped into A, B & C, built directly on-top of what used to be an old parking lot. The garden design allows children, at their height, to interact more closely with the soil and plants which are easily accessible and growing right at their level. The beds were planted in the spring by the school groups who participated in the educational programming offered at the garden. They showcase a variety of vegetables and flowers that are maintained organically.

Today was the first day of this free summer program offered by the City of Toronto. At one point there must have been at least fifty people in the garden, ranging in age from babies to grandmothers. Children at the garden are accompanied by an adult and there were definitely many moms on-hand. For some of the children it was their first time in the park, others were new visitors to the garden, but for some, this was an anticipated return after three long seasons away.

The theme of today’s session centred around bugs. Planned activities included:

-a bug hunt in both the compost bins and the naturalized hill around the garden

-a craft that involved making paper chain links into caterpillars that were then turned into butterflies with brightly painted wings

-a related story time under the the oak tree

Younger children especially enjoyed having the opportunity to carefully hold a red wiggler worm from the vermicomposter. Older ones spent much of their time using the bug catchers and magnifying glasses provided to observe the ants, ladybugs and caterpillars they could find. All of the children were intrigued by the tiny frogs that had made an appearance on this damp day. It can be a challenge to encourage the children to connect with nature and not to be afraid of the crawling, jumping critters while teaching them also to be very gentle with the creatures they come into contact with. Some of the children seemed very disappointed to have to let go of the frogs they had found!

Butterfly Garden

While all of the activities were a success and captured the attention of the majority of the participants, it was really the watering of the garden, that happened when the children were arriving, that most grabbed their attention and energy. Some children were content to use the small brightly coloured kids’ watering cans that we provided. Others, the serious ones, wanted a full sized green watering can and this did not seem to have much to do with the size of the child. Children who could barely manage their load were seen running to and from the hose to fill-up. Water overflowing they would quickly make their way to the nearest plants and then back again for a refill. (Note: when designing a children’s garden, it appears important to consider the location of the water source as the closest beds will surely receive special attention.) By watering, the children were able to give to the garden and to be part of a living process. For many participants it appeared to be a novel experience and they enjoyed getting wet for the cause. While well thought-out, creative programming is important, one must remember that ordinary tasks can bring just as much excitement and a real feeling of participation, especially including activities that are too often reserved for adults only.

Snacking Visitors