New York Botanical Garden helps heal veterans
The Edible Academy at the New York Botanical will be the site of a new horticultural therapy
program for veterans. ©Robert Benson Photography
Using its expertise in both gardening
and horticultural therapy, the New
York Botanical Garden is launching
a new program that will harness the
power of nature to help heal the minds
and bodies of veterans who are being
treated for a wide range of mental and
physical health challenges.
In collaboration with the Resilience
and Wellness Center at the James J.
Peters Veterans Administration Medical
Center in the Bronx, NYBG will
provide a specially designed combination
of horticultural therapy and
gardening activities to as many as 300
veterans over the next three years.
The new program—called Therapeutic
Horticulture and Rehabilitative Interventions
for Veteran Engagement,
or THRIVE—is supported by a grant
from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services.
Beginning in January 2020, groups
of up to 10 veterans will come to NYBG
for four weekly, three-hour sessions
with a registered horticultural therapist,
consisting of seasonally-based
activities such as planting, seed-starting,
watering, weeding, cooking, and
nutrition education.
The sessions will take place at NYBG’s
Edible Academy—a three-acre
campus of gardens, classrooms, a
teaching greenhouse, and other facilities
that opened in 2018—where children,
families and the general public
learn about growing and cooking fresh
fruit and vegetables.
The weekly sessions at the Edible
Academy are designed to complement
the RWC’s existing schedule of services
for veterans and contribute to
their overall well-being by fostering a
healthy and active lifestyle. The RWC’s
mission is to combat increasing rates
of suicide and opioid addiction and
overdose in veterans through innovative
BRONX ARTS & SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL
STARTING AUGUST 2019 THROUGH JUNE 2020, BRONX
ARTS AND SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD OF
TRUSTEES BOARD MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT 925
HUTCHINSON RIVER PARKWAY, BRONX, NY 10465, 1st
Floor AT THE FOLLOWING DATES AND TIMES, EXCEPT
WHERE NOTED:
December 2, 2019, 6:30pm
January 6, 2020, 6:30pm
February 3, 2020, 6:30pm
March 2, 2020, 6:30pm
April 6, 2020, 6:30pm
May 4, 2020, 6:30pm
June 1, 2020, 6:30pm
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48-HOUR NOTICES, PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTACT
INFORMATION INCLUDING NAME AND ADDRESS TO
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programs that stress a holistic approach
to treating the mind and body.
Veterans in the program typically face
a number of health and personal challenges,
ranging from service-related
mental health issues to rehabilitating
from physical injury and re-acclimating
to civilian life.
Research has shown that participation
in garden-based acivities can result
in lower blood pressure; decreased
pain and the need for pain-relieving
medication; lower levels of depression,
stress, and anxiety; and improved
range of motion, cognition, and mood.
NYBG’s Adult Education Horticultural
Therapy Certifi cate Program,
which is accredited by the American
Horticultural Therapy Assocation, is
known nationwide for teaching innovative
techniques and approaches that
use plants and the environment to heal
and rehabilitate.
The THRIVE program will run
from January through October for a
three-year pilot phase. At the end of
each monthly series of sessions, there
will be a weekend celebratory event at
the Edible Academy for the veterans
and their families, and those who complete
the program will receive a complimentary
NYBG family membership
for one year so they and their families
can continue to enjoy the wellness
benefi ts of NYBG’s gardens and programs.
Through the THRIVE pilot, NYBG
aims to create a program that can be
replicated at other botanical gardens,
nature centers, or parks that seek to
offer veterans physical and mental
healing through horticultural therapy
and gardening practices.
For further information call (718)
817-8700 or visit nybg.org.
* * *
Do you need help getting to and
from your medical appointments?
Transportation services are available
to seniors Monday through Friday, 8
a.m. to 4 p.m., in community districts
9, 10, 11 and 12. The program provides
door-to-door service for all medical appointments.
Their drivers are courteous
and professional; and their vehicles
are clean and handicap accessible,
including wheelchair lifts.
For further information, contact
Mildred Cardona, program director
of the R.A.I.N. Transportation Program,
at (718) 882-8513.
* * *
Stop by picturesque City Island and
enjoy the exciting programs offered at
the PSS City Island Center, which is
located at 116 City Island Avenue, Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. Experience the exercise classes
from gentle Yoga Stretch, Balance
Class, Arthritis Workshop and Tai
Chi as well as the vigorous Fit For Life
and Cardio Fit. They also offer acrylic
painting, calligraphy, health presentations,
blood pressure monitoring, gardening
exchange, singing group and
parties. Lunch is served from noon to
1 p.m. suggested donation is $2. The
center participants go on shopping
trips every day; i.e. Shop Rite, Dollar
Tree, Target, Kmart, as well as theatre
excursions, special trips, special luncheons
and more. It’s free to become
a member, but you must be 60 years of
age or above.
For more information contact
Patty at (718) 885-0727 or email pattis@
pssusa.org for their monthly calendar.
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