E n a b l E d

Ga r d E n i n GRight for your employees. Right for you.

ContaCt with the world of plants is a vital part of human experienCe, and to be able to partiCipate in some form of gardening brings real pleasure to many people.

People of all ages and with widely differing interests and abilities enjoy growing all kinds of things, and disabled people are no exception. Like everyone else, they feel a sense of achievement when seeds sprout and plants flourish.

Disabled people have fewer opportunities than others of choosing their environment and adapting it, but gardening is one way in which they can express personal tastes and bring beauty into their surroundings. Most disabled people live at home, and the gardening they do is most likely to be on a small scale on a windowsill, a balcony, or in a small garden.

My aim is to help people to make the most of their surroundings and to use every available space, from a bedside locker to a back garden, for growing something to enjoy.

I have planned a programme of activities suitable for most age-groups, needing a minimum amount of space and equipment and assuming no previous horticultural knowledge. The guide-lines in choosing activities were that topics should arouse interest, lead to the acquisition of new skills, and give a sense of achievement by producing satisfying and successful results.

This is not ‘easy gardening’ - the ‘no-work’ garden is not necessarily what a disabled person requires - but no-one wants to do things the hard way deliberately, so methods of simplifying work and reducing the effort required are employed. My aim is to make gardening enjoyable and to enable people to do more of it, not less.

ContEnts:paGE onE: Gardening is for everyone - Enabled gardening.paGE two: Gardening projects - Recreational, vocational or therapeutic gardening.paGE thrEE: About Sinead Drew and GardenWell - Brief bio and mission.paGE four: How I can help - Gardening and horticulture activities and programmes.

GardEninG is for EvEryonE

Gardening is a wonderfully flexible

medium that can transform lives,

regardless of age or disability.

The benefits of a sustained and active

interest in gardening include:

• Better physical health through

exercise and learning how to use

or strengthen muscles to improve

mobility

• Improved mental health through a

sense of purpose and achievement

• The opportunity to connect with

others – reducing feelings of

isolation or exclusion

• Acquiring new skills to improve the

chances of finding employment

• Just feeling better for being

outside, in touch with nature and in

the ‘great outdoors’

“Kind hearts are the garden, kind thoughts are the root, kind words are the blossoms, kind deeds are the fruit ”

- John Ruskin

Garden and natural craft programmes can offer people of all ages, who have a wide range of disabilities, the opportunity to engage in regular gardening throughout the year in a structured way. As a trained professional, I work to defined social and therapeutic horticultural practices, which take account of both physical and psychological needs to meet goals agreed with individuals.

People sometimes decide for themselves to attend a garden project but most likely they will be referred by occupational therapists or specific teams. Activity schedules will vary but are normally at least once each week for an agreed period. Gardening activities are mostly within the project itself but can also be out in the community or a nearby local setting.

Garden projects usually start with some practical information to make

garden jobs easier whatever ones ability. There is some advice that will help all participants, and then there is specific advice for those who maybe gardening sitting down and from a wheelchair or those with sight loss or with a weak grip, with one hand and for those who perhaps want to improve their emotional well-being.

The following gardening activities are usually covered - getting ready, digging, weeding, mowing and lawn maintenance, pruning, trimming hedges, sweeping and raking, watering, sowing seeds, planting out, growing in containers, moving things in the garden and tips on garden design.

For each gardening job I offer tips for making the task easier, advice on taking care, any useful hints and tips, and details of the equipment and tools that will be particularly helpful.

rECrEational, voCational or thErapEutiC GardEninG

usinG naturE to nurturEMy Vision: To enrich peoples’ lives through the therapeutic joys of gardening. To be inclusive, respective and caring to all people at any stage of live. By providing supportive, professional and positive gardening programmes, I aim to lighten the load of everyday life, to spark an unknown interest or passion and allow each person to blossom in their own way and time.

bEnEfits of GardEninG

profilE

My activities are varied but focus on championing the benefits of gardening to individuals and organisations, as well as teaching techniques and practical applications so that everyone can take part and enjoy gardening.

I have experience with many garden projects serving a wide variety of agencies and individuals.

One of my key activities is to help marginalised people to enjoy and to continue gardening. I offer help and advice and practical experience.

I offer vocational horticulture training and tailored gardening programmes and curricula for many client populations.

I also conduct research to increase understanding of the power that gardening has to change people’s lives.

i was brought up in a large family with a sprawling garden … roses, Camellias, a gorgeous Clematis montana and tons of daylilies … i was luCky to have a mother who was a keen gardener and who bestowed upon me her knowledge and love of plants and flowers...

about mE

... Most days I would be handed out tasks that, with hindsight, would lay many of the foundations for what I do today. The lawn had to be mown, the onions weeded, carrots thinned or perhaps the strawberries harvested. I spent a long time in the garden and, despite my tender age, learnt how to do many basic horticultural tasks. I learnt the cycle of nature.

This contentment is something I always refer back to, especially when I’m feeling down. The garden and gardening itself has never failed to be a source of inspiration and comfort for me.

For many years this did not translate into anything other than a private richness. I did my B.A degree in Communications and I studied Physical Therapy for a time, I worked many different jobs. My husband and I gardened together from almost the first day we bought our first home but in our own time. The thought of gardening as a vocation never entered my mind.

It was when I worked as a facilitator in an activity based rehabilitation

sinEad drEw: GardEnwEllprogramme that I first saw how essential positive training is to recovery and development. At that time, I had never even heard of horticultural therapy or therapeutic horticulture.

My quest for more knowledge continued, a formal qualification in horticulture followed and then, as luck would have it, I got my break co-coordinating and running a pilot horticultural activity programme in a new state-of-the-art residential care facility catering for people with a variety of conditions ranging from depression, challenging behaviours, autism, acquired brain injuries, the blind and personality disorders.

I went on to do a postgraduate qualification in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture in Coventry University, which paved the way for many invaluable experiences in many garden projects that have

served a wide variety of agencies and individuals.

Today, my work at GardenWell aims to be a bridge between the world of horticulture and the world of health. Simple things – cutting a hedge, planting a tray of sunflowers – can lighten the load of everyday life, can spark an unknown interest or passion and allow each person to blossom in their own way and time.

“Sinead has a fantastic ability to motivate others to

do meaningful activities, she encourages self belief and

independence. It’s just amazing how much positive feedback

the participants give .”

Dr. Tom O’Brien

a b o u t

Contact Sinead (01) 487 5660

h o w i C a n h e l p

“Being part of the garden programme has helped me become more independent and motivated”

“Sinead is very easy to talk to, she can get the best out of me which is very good. She motivates me to garden”

“The most valuable thing Sinead has done for me is to keep me focused on what I am doing, my concentration levels have really increased”

Using my passion for the power of gardening to change the lives of people touched by a disability, I will:

n teach practical and creative ways to use gardening

n learn more about how gardening helps people

n talk about what I do and how I help by using gardening

n work with organisations and the individuals they serve

I offer a person centred series of engaging plant and natural craft activities as part of any programme.

To find out more about GardenWell:

n visit www.gardenwell.org

n Phone 01 487 5660

n or send an email to sinead@gardenwell.org

Tel: (01) 487 5660

sinead@gardenwell.org

www.gardenwell.org