Project Summary:

WE GROW: Feeling Success in a Sensory Garden

We hope to build a sensory garden in an existing interior courtyard. This sensory garden will be a relaxing space created and cared for by students and staff members. We believe creating and tending the sensory garden will help teach students to deal with the stressors of childhood by interacting with nature.

We believe that using the garden and outdoor time as a coping strategy will teach students to build emotional regulation and coping skills that will cultivate resilience. We think these skills are transferable to life in and outside of the school, and our project aims to help children spend more time outdoors.

Engaging in time outdoors, breathing fresh air, and creating and collaborating in unique ways are beneficial to children’s overall health and wellness and promotes creativity and sensory integration. Research shows that sensory gardens can fill this need by improving physical fitness, health, mood and cognition. These gardens are designed specifically to engage visitors in an immersive experience to linger, notice their surroundings, observe their senses, and find harmony between the physical and mental states.

Our 1963 campus includes an original interior courtyard that has been neglected and underutilized for many years. This courtyard adjoins our school counselor’s classroom and two hallways with large windows and includes 4 blossoming trees. We have been working slowly to improve the space over the past year and make it more usable for children. We have removed dead shrubbery, secured grant funds for working to remove existing rock, and added murals on the walls to create a sensory activity path. We’ve got a long way to go to make this space more beautiful and useful.

Students will work with the teaching assistant to choose the right types of sensory-rich plants to engage the senses (touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste). The group will study and learn about design options, make choices, and create a plan for the raised bed garden. Students will construct the garden (likely with adult volunteer help), plant a variety of perennials designed to thrive in our climate, and bring the raised bed garden to life.

The school counselor and administrators will review student data to identify students who would benefit from additional support to build emotional regulation skills. The students will meet in small groups two times weekly with the counselor and teaching assistant. In one session, small groups will work with the counselor to learn coping strategies using our Character Strong intervention curriculum. In another session, small groups will work with the teaching assistant to plan, design, create, and tend the raised bed garden.

For the targeted students, we have several key goals for this sensory garden project.

Build skills for collaborating with peers and adults, including taking turns, being respectful, taking and sharing responsibility, and finding shared interests.
Relax and enjoy interacting with peers and adults in school.
Learn coping skills that can be used in the classroom and at home.
Experience the benefits of being outdoors for overall wellness, especially improving mood and mental and physical health.
Build leadership skills and ownership through hands-on learning and engagement.