Patients build mental health, grow community connections in greenhouse at Alberta Hospital Edmonton

EDMONTON — The onsite greenhouse work program for psychiatric inpatients is seeing standout success at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.

It's one of the ways the team is broadening the path to mental health recovery beyond the hospital setting with more creative, hands-on and rewarding programs that engage individuals in meaningful activities to achieve a sense of accomplishment and purpose.

"The clients who sign up are usually looking for some work experience," says Trina Oommen, an occupational therapist.

Every day she sees patients benefit as they grow and thrive in the greenhouse program. "They're looking for activities to schedule into their day. So, it's kind of just another way to engage."

The program encourages personal fulfilment and community contribution, building a therapeutic bridge between hospital life and community reintegration.

Patients are welcomed by the bright colours and fresh air of the greenhouse during a shift, seeing their hard work grow and blossom at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.

Greenhouse work blends elements of horticultural therapy and vocational rehabilitation. Patients plant, transfer, water, harvest and prepare the greenhouse for the annual spring plant sale. These activities give them much-appreciated structure, responsibility and a sense of purpose.

As a companion to traditional therapy, this work program encourages patients to find new connections with themselves and their community.

"In our opinion, the biggest benefit to our greenhouse program, and other programs here on site, is just an opportunity for people to have meaningful activities while they're here," says Lindsey Pearson, a care manager with Allied Health.

She adds she feels lucky to be able to see firsthand the benefits of this and other patient programs. "These programs offer an opportunity to look at mental health, and things that are positive for our well-being, that maybe they haven't had the opportunity to before."

Another valuable element of the greenhouse program is how it gives patients the opportunity to see their hard work out in the community, through the site's annual plant sale. Potted tropicals, hanging flower baskets, bedding plants and fresh herbs are a few of the offerings.

"The greenhouse gives us a really neat opportunity to interact with members of the community. Patients take great value out of starting with a small plant or a plug and then being able to transplant it and nurture that, to create a plant," says Pearson.

This opportunity creates meaningful connections between patients and the wider community, helping achieve the goal of breaking down the stigma around mental healthcare, recovery and facilities. As well, it helps patients feel like a part of their care and recovery, perhaps discovering in the process a new leisure interest they might carry on in the community.

For many, it's about taking that first step to try something new.

"Oh this is my happy place," says Kevin, a patient who puts in a couple of shifts a week, but adds he felt the benefits right away. "I know that the word 'mindfulness' is used an awful lot here — (and) this was very helpful in creating mindfulness and being present in the moment, helping to reduce anxiety, for sure."

For Kevin, the greenhouse is not only a welcoming place, but a calming one. Starting his shift in the early morning, he feels that beginning his day at the greenhouse in a calm, anxiety-free space is incredibly beneficial.

"Being able to have a place where you can go — where you associate it with that sort of calmness and that sereneness — helps reduce that sort of anxiety for the rest of the day.

"I think there's been a lot of positives out of it. So we're like, we're contributing to our own recovery."