 There is an oasis on campus, where University students and staff can find perspective during hectic days. It’s the Healing Garden outside the Health Services Unit (HSU) at UWI, St Augustine.
One rainy morning in January 2016, a few volunteer horticultural buffs, UWI students and HSU staffers planted the first seedlings of what is now a nurturing green space.
Now doing his Masters in Management Studies, Ananda Ramlochan remembers the overgrown scene that once met HSU visitors. “It’s amazing to look at it now from where it started.”
As former President of UWI’s Agricultural Society, he rallied student volunteers. Today, two planters bloom with periwinkle and hibiscus, while the side of the building features a picnic table and benches, flowering herbs and shrubs, palm trees, a footpath and a birdbath.
The garden is the “labour of love” of counsellor Dr Sandra Celestine. Dr Celestine was invited to join HSU in 2014 to develop and implement health promotion and wellness outreach programmes. She grew concerned by the need for uptake of services by students, and a need on the clinic’s part to “reach students where they’re at”.
Having worked at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centre in New York which “stressed the importance of healing gardens”, she decided to create a greener, welcoming face for the clinic.
The Facilities Department was unconvinced. Who would maintain it? It took some persuading.
Dr Celestine teamed up with Mrs Wilma Charles, co-founder and President of the Eastern Horticultural Club. They presented a compelling case, showing the benefits of such gardens and a plan for making it happen.
Mrs Charles had seen her club grow from tiny beginnings when core members decided “we would go brave”and form a horticulture group in East Trinidad. In 2010, they debuted at Sforzata Panyard in St Augustine. Last year’s show, held at Trinity College East, saw 1,000 attendees.
Mrs Charles knew she could draw on the expertise of her membership for the HSU project. They donated plants, plus the know-how of landscaping designer Herman Uddenberg. Landscapers Ann Marie Romona Byron and Esther-May Derrick Joseph added their assistance.
Sponsors pitched in, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries (Horticultural Services Division), Coastal Dynamics Limited, Republic Bank Limited, Penta Paints Caribbean Limited, Tropi Mulch Limited, Outdoor Concepts Decorative Pots, Livon’s Plant Shop, Adam’s Project Management and Construction Limited, Mrs Charmaine O’Brien-Delpesh, Dr Trevor Townsend and Kerwyn’s Exotic Plants and Landscaping. Others donated anonymously.
The garden is a sensory feast. Bougainvillea erupts in crimson. Lady of the Night and Sweet Lime perfume the air. The gurgling water feature, made with barrels donated by Angostura, creates a buffer from mundane campus sounds. And with herbs like Lemongrass, Tulsi and Thyme in the mix, garden-goers can even take a taste.
One person that did not need to be persuaded about the garden’s potential merits was Dr Neil Singh, Medical Officer and Head of HSU.
He started in 2001 and says he’s witnessed “a rise in unhealthy behaviours: irresponsible sex, alcohol abuse, smoking, sedentary lifestyles, poor eating habits”, and “poor coping strategies”, leading to a decline in mental health – anxiety and depression especially.
He says many students remain unaware of the clinic’s expanding range of free, integrated services like counselling, optometry, cancer screening, nutrition, dental care, dermatology, HIV screening, birth control, first aid training and vaccinations.
Dr Singh says time spent relaxing in a healing garden can form an effective non-chemical component in overall healing and wellness.
Ramlochan’s undergrad experience echoes Dr Singh’s concerns, “Students get caught up (on getting their qualifications) with no time for self-care. There’s a stigma – especially around mental health. I wish more students would see it as something to improve their quality of life”.
He hopes more students will find “joy and empowerment” in the “colourful, living, breathing community space” he helped create.
Linked source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nature-that-nurtures/
To make a contribution to HSU’s Healing Garden, contact the Eastern Horticulture Club
Email: easternhorticulturalclub@hotmail.com |
