If you are a senior who loves to garden but feels you could sometimes use a helping hand, the Earthwise Garden Buddies program might be ideal for you.
Garden Buddies is a gardening together program that reaches out to seniors who live at home and would like to continue gardening for health and enjoyment.
Each senior is paired with a trained Earthwise volunteer, and together they will work on new or existing gardening projects, bond over a common interest and enjoy each other’s company.
Garden Buddies is not a garden service provided by Earthwise, but rather a program that aims to establish a relationship of trust, knowledge sharing and support as the volunteer and senior collaborate their skills.
The volunteer would visit regularly for one- to two-hour sessions over several months.
Installing a bird feeder and planting bird friendly flowers, working together to remove weeds and installing herb pots on a balcony are just a few examples of the types of projects that could be completed.
In addition to keeping seniors active, Garden Buddies helps to harness the healing power of nature to improve well-being and social connectedness. Gardeners across the world know that getting outside and into the soil brightens the mood and eases stress. Research shows that friendly soil bacteria can even act as an antidepressant, and gardening with a friend has been shown to increase these benefits.
The program can be equally rewarding for the volunteers, who will gain the opportunity to share knowledge and experience and learn from another generation of gardeners.
“Through this program, volunteers can contribute to their communities by helping seniors continue to live at home and stay independent,”says Patricia Fleming, Earthwise Society’s executive director. “For the seniors, it is a great opportunity to meet new people in their neighbourhood, to stay active and to continue to enjoy gardening.”
Earthwise will train volunteers in the necessary skills through several free workshops and gardening sessions at the Earthwise Garden.
For more information, contact Earthwise at [email protected] or 604-946-9828.
