Being a Director of Activities isn’t as easy as it may appear from the outside. Although you get to come up with a lot of fun activities for your residents, it takes creativity and strategic thought to put together activities that aren’t just fun, but beneficial to the residents’ care plans as well. Shannon is not your average Director of Activities though. She respects the needs of her residents and is willing to do anything to make them smile.
Shannon has been at Envoy of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, VA for 10 years. She has seen several activities take place, but really thought one in particular was perfect for her residents. She decided she wanted to revive the Master Gardener program, and she pushed to have a therapy garden put in place again. With the help of her Executive Director, she was able to make that happen.
The unique spin on this garden is that most of the residents from the region have a background in farming. Many of them lived through the Great Depression and have fond memories of planting things in the garden and cooking with the fresh vegetables. It’s a reminiscent activity that has special benefits for those residents experiencing memory loss. Shannon really respects many of the residents’ backgrounds and wanted to provide them with an activity that would build on their experiences and memories.
Now, twice a month, members of the local Master Gardener club visit the care center and provide residents with seeds to plant vegetables in the garden while teaching them about what they are planting. This activity is not only fun and educational for the residents, but it is also therapeutic. During the weeks that the Master Gardener program is not on-site, the residents are able to water the plants, enjoy the fresh vegetables, and just spend time in the garden.
The garden hasn’t only impacted the residents in a positive way; it has also impacted the employees. One employee in particular even requests to work on the gardening days. Everyone likes to get outside and soak in the Vitamin D and spend time together. The garden gets everyone involved and provides a sense of community.
Shannon told us that the residents even get competitive with growing their vegetables. It really gives them something to look forward to and provides some friendly competition. The garden is also completely organic so the residents who suffer memory loss or dementia are able to participate without worry of eating something toxic. Because of the freshness of the vegetables, you will often catch residents plucking fresh tomatoes off the plant when no one is looking! Shannon said, “I requested extra tomato plants this year because the tomatoes disappear so quickly!”
The garden has proven to be an all around benefit to the care center. It has provided the residents and the staff with so much joy. Shannon’s intuition and her respect for her residents is demonstrated by the implementation of the garden. She honors our Core Values by giving back and being so committed to make her residents happy.
If you found an error, highlight it and press Shift + Enter or click here to inform us.
CHC