Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging

Outdoor environments and activities such as gardening are found to encourage a range of movement, social connection, sensory awareness, and meaning making. Recreation teams responsible for the delivery of activity and leisure programming influence overall rates of physical activity and social opportunities for residents living in continuing care settings. The recreation team at Cambridge Manor, a Brenda Strafford Foundation operated facility in Calgary, offers a meaningful outdoor experience for residents, their caregivers, and staff through the Green Thumbs gardening program.

Researchers gained valuable insights through semi-structured interviews and field observations. The thematic analysis resembled gardening processes: (1) Planting Seeds begins the program where participant choice is the foundation; (2) Connecting to the purpose are the roots in the soil, with links to beauty and fostering a sense of a destination; (3) Sustainable processes for the program include maintaining realistic rituals that could endure through change and disruption, while supporting engagement and remaining adaptable; and (4) Finally, the cultivation (growth) from the program was most clearly identified in a shift in power dynamics between staff and residents. Within the program everyone is a "gardener." A sense of a garden party took hold, where residents and staff were both guest and host, receiving from the garden and gaining a sense of accomplishment. 

This project was supported by the UCalgary Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging and the Brenda Strafford Foundation Chair in Geriatric Medicine. The research team included: Dr. Sonya Jakubec; Dr. Dallas Seitz; Michelle LeBlanc; Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc; and Nicole Baker.