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It is
always a pleasure to learn about good ideas and about people who decide to do
some good for someone else's, not their own sake. That was why the news about
this good and nice project — a sensory garden on the territory of the boardinghome for children with special needs — made me happy. St Elisabeth Convent has
been catering for this boarding home for many years.
Winter
does not look like the perfect season for starting a new garden. However, the
sisters have a lot to do during winter: plan everything in detail in order to
use up all the land and to create something very special and unforgettable for
the young patients of the boarding home. It must be a wonderful gift to these
kids who spend so little time outdoors and know so little about the nature!
It was
Alyona Ovlashevich (she works in the boarding home and at the same time studies
towards a degree in landscape design) who came up with the idea to establish
the sensory garden. St Elisabeth Convent supported her initiative.
"There
is a vacant plot of land on the territory of the boarding home. It caught my
attention some time ago," Alyona says. "We are going to improve it
and transform it into a sensory garden next spring. I am certain that it will
bring a lot of positive feelings and new discoveries to our children!
A sensory
garden is a plot where everything is organised in a certain way and serves
certain purposes. It is organised in such a way as to create beneficial
surroundings to get in touch with nature - an opportunity that so many of big city
dwellers find missing. Such gardens have become very popular in schools and
hospitals of many European countries. So we try to adopt this new trend now.
Scholars today even speak of the so called "garden therapy." Nature
may help to improve one's health and mood, to let a person feel harmony,
develop their personality and discover the world around them."
For a child,
each day is filled up with some interesting and important discoveries.
Gradually, step by step, they learn about the world that surrounds them. Nature
plays an important role in the children's upbringing and education. A sensory
garden gives them an opportunity to get to know it better. Each visitor does
not only observe it but also actively participates in the fascinating encounter
with nature.
Alyona
smiles, "We won't tell you everything we have in mind but I promise that
children will like our garden! It will be beautiful, safe and useful at the
same time. We will plan everything meticulously so that the children with
learning difficulties would feel comfortable and secure.
We plan to
use materials, plants and objects that help one to fully perceive the beauty of
the natural environment. Our young patients will be able to look at the
beautiful plants, smell their scents, and much more. A sensory garden is a
place where visitors are allowed and even encouraged to interact with the
environment. They can touch the plants and even taste some of them. We plan to
plant some edible plants, like strawberries or ornamental apple trees, for that
purpose. We are going to set up some benches in the yard where people could sit
and relax and enjoy the nature. We will also dig out a small pond and a
waterfall where people will see the water run and hear it pour. We will use
fragrant herbs for the lawn, such as mint, balm, sage, mother-of-thyme, etc.
Natural scents are also a source of joy and an excellent mood.
Written by Tatiana Shimko
CONVERSATION