Niles Home Youth “Eat What They Sow” in Community Garden

Several of the young Niles gardeners have never liked broccoli, not to mention ever eaten any. However, they were willing to “try it” recently, because they had a hand in growing it in a community garden on the Niles Home campus. Once the youth sampled and “approved” of the broccoli, then eating tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and even fresh herbs, became a natural part of the gardening experience.

The garden was the centerpiece of a horticultural therapy project for the residents at the Niles Home that was partially funded by a grant from the REACH Healthcare Foundation. Horticultural therapy is a widely recognized approach in treating emotional or mental illness. Both Niles residents and Niles Prep students received therapeutic benefits from working in the garden. Assisting the Niles clinical staff with the project were Jessica Ratcliff, gardener, and Dena Baldauf, horticultural therapist.

Garden project partners included the Community Gardens of Kansas City, the Greater Kansas City Gardeners of America, the Washington-Wheatley Neighborhood Association, and the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture. Several area garden centers, as well as national direct-mail companies, also donated tools, supplies, and bedding plants to the project.

Niles board members, corporate officials and community volunteers attended the garden’s dedication last May. Throughout the spring and summer, company volunteers assisted the children with garden tilling, planting and harvesting. Niles youth and staff planted more than a dozen types of vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

When a crop was harvested, the first stop was the Niles cafeteria, where food service manager, Carmen Weathers, selected the cream of the crop for meals to be served that week. Agency employees were allowed to take their picks next. Other beneficiaries of the garden’s bounty included Niles board members, volunteers, teachers and staff from neighboring Lincoln Middle School, and senior citizens at Seton Center.

Click Link to view photos of The Niles Home Garden