Greenhouse helps mental health patients blossom

As part of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week, Kirkwood Place held an official grand opening of its greenhouse.

The greenhouse offers horticultural therapy for inpatients of Kirkwood Place and Health Sciences North, as well as members of the Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA).

Tracy Gregory has been dealing with depression since her early adolescence, and is currently working as the program coordinator at NISA. Since joining the horticultural therapy team, Gregory says it’s been “an incredible gift.”

“It’s been tremendously therapeutic for me,” she said, “when I’m in here working in the soil, transplanting our little tomato plants and working with folks that I know are also benefiting from the environment.

“To come in here and just watch things grow from seeds that we’ve watered and nurtured has been incredible for all of us.”

The Sudbury Horticultural Society and the Home Depot supplied equipment and guidance to create the fully operational greenhouse.

The facility will operate year-round, and the plants grown there will be used to beautify the Kirkwood Place property. Fruits and vegetables grown in the greenhouse will be used for the “Mood is Food” program.

Kirkwood Place is North Bay Regional Health Centre's Sudbury locations, providing regional specialized mental health services in the Greater Sudbury area.