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Horticulture for Seniors
Northeast Regional Master Gardener Conference
Search for Excellence Award.
February the Horticulture for Seniors celebrated their 7th Anniversary.
Our Mission:
Our mission is to engage senior participants in a variety of pleasurable programs relevant to Horticulture, which enhance their mental stimulation, sensory awareness, manual dexterity, and social and physical interaction. We, as Master Gardeners, were aware of our inability to satisfy this need, thus we felt a project such as this one would be a welcome addition to our county's activities.
Description:
In searching available activities for local senior citizens, we found that nothing existed in our community relevant to horticulture. This committee was inititated in February of 2002 by a group of dedicated Master Gardener volunteers who recoginized the value of horticultural activities as an enhancement to the lifestyle of our senior citizens in Essex County. We are a group of several Master Gardeners who present 10 monthly programs per year attended by approximately 25 senior participants.
Our list of projects include some very basic horticultural techniques, such as growing flowers or vegetables from seed, forcing bulbs, or making transplants of cuttings. Other related projects include flower arranging, recycling, and composting.
An example of one of our projects which was very successful was 'Decorating a Plant Container' with a technique called, decoupage. The very detailed pictures needed are cut from catalogues by our committee members because of safety concerns. The seniors would apply the paste and pictures to the container.
Our Goals:
Our goal is to rekindle a love of gardening among the seniors who come to the horticultural program. This love of gardening was once an important part of their lives, but is no longer available to them, either because of their own physical or mental challenges, or the inability to find opportunities.
The Master Gardeners committee, in our individual aprons made by Suzanne Steele, preparing for the Horticulture for Seniors program on "Canning and Preserving Food". Starting left from front row we have Maya, Anita, Helen, Trish,Barbara with Aiden (baby mascot) and Suzanne. In the second row are Val, Lydia, Unn, and Elton. We had 20 seniors come to the program and learn about different ways of preparing and saving food. We compared different types of apples and made apple sauce to taste.
Program Goals:
- Encourage independence with step-by-step instruction;
- Provide assistance when necessary;
- Emphasize social interaction, sensory stimulation, manual dexterity, self esteem, and enhanced quality of life; and
- Have completed projects taken home with informational handouts for the project that was completed at that session.
Population Served:
Over 200 participants come from diverse populations, with a wide range of challenges, including independent individuals through senior citizen associations and assisted living residents. These senior residents live in Essex County, New Jersey. Each program serves from 20 to 30 participants. There are ten monthly programs each year from September through June on general horticultural topics that are adapted for senior audiences.
The program expenses are included in the annual overall budget. The expenses include materials, communication, and marketing through mailers and phone calls to assisted living directors, recreational coordinators, activity directors, etc.
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