Four garden therapy committee members visited Oasis, A Haven for Women and Children on June 1 to work with women in the "Survive and Strive" group, where we planted six rooftop raised garden containers with colorful perennials and annuals (see photos below)..
Oasis clients had varying degrees of gardening experience and totally took ownership of the beds. We explained which plants would attract pollinators, and which were hosts for the swallowtail butterflies and what to look for as caterpillars emerged and grew. We learned of some of the trauma that these women had experienced and left with high hopes of the women gaining solace as they visited and worked in the garden over the summer.
GCM members were: Sheila Curry-Oakes, Michele Trevenan, Susan Dumont, Sarah Olson.