Help Support our Therapeutic Gardening programs
The Beez Kneez Therapeutic Sustainability Garden was installed at Ontario Shores in 2021 and features wheelchair-accessible raised-bed planters, rain barrels, composters, bird feeders, wind chimes and a honey-producing bee hive maintained by Alvéole. Patients named the garden "Beez Kneez" and painted the new sign.
Together with Recreation and Vocational Therapists, patients grow peas, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, lettuces, kale and herbs and installed a garden community bulletin board to share information and communicate garden tasks.
In the winter of 2024 an indoor garden space "The Greenhouse" was created which allowed for the expansion of a formal Horticulture Therapy program offered year-round for patients through vocational services, Recovery College and other unit group programs. These patient programs help patients:
- Establish meaningful therapeutic goals related to horticulture
- Develop specific life, social and community integration skills, and
- Incorporate the seven dimensions of wellness (physical, spiritual, cognitive, emotional, social, creative and environmental)
Donate Directly to the Garden Today!
Why We Need Your Support
These therapeutic horticultural spaces (Outdoor Garden and Indoor Greenhouse) require ongoing maintenance, tools and plant materials to support patient programming. Donations may also support garden-related crafts and other therapeutic activities. Please support the garden through:
- Monetary Gifts
- Plants (young vegetable plants, bee-friendly perennials and native species)
- Garden Centre store credit or gifts cards - to support hands-on education/experiences in selecting plants and garden materials through community outings to local nurseries
To donate gifts-in-kind soil, plant materials or gift cards, please contact Maureen Patterson e: @email / t: 905-430-4055 ext. 6520