Horticultural Therapy helps Allendale's troubled kids blossom

Submitted by Lekas & Levine PR

Allendale Teacher Nanci Lunsford paces her "classroom" - a working greenhouse on Allendale's Lake Villa Campus - pruning plants as she talks about her students.

Allendale Association is a not-for-profit facility for children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Some are victims of abuse or neglect while others may suffer from mental illness. Allendale strives to give them the help they need to heal. Lunsford is part of that process.

Here students have included one who was so traumatized she would barely speak a sentence, but in the greenhouse she would express herself by creating magnificent floral arrangements.

And there was a boy who was a chronic runaway risk, but he'd never flee the garden. Working the warm earth, he began to work out his problems.

The process is called horticultural therapy; one of the many ways Allendale's experts help troubled kids put down healthy roots.

"Caring for something that's alive is very beneficial for these kids," said Lunsford, who has a background in floral design and horticulture. "Here, they relax. They're engaged. They can create beautiful, living things. They can be successful."

Lunsford's classroom spans the Bernard Rinella Jr. Horticultural Center and the Mazza Gardens (the greenhouse), flower and vegetable gardens, and some of Allendale's sprawling 100-acre campus.

Students can take classes, or even work for pay: transplanting in the greenhouse, tending the gardens, manning a landscaping crew. Some of them will go on to work for local garden centers and florists.

It's all part of Allendale's extensive vocational program, which also includes a hands-on auto shop, wood shop, laundry, cafe, landscaping program and off-campus thrift store.

"Students not only learn practical career skills here, they learn that they are 'good at something'," Lunsford said.

According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, the benefits of gardening have been acknowledged for centuries. But in the last 70 years, "HT" has become a recognized form of therapy.

"It's a new experience for students," Lunsford said. "Remember, most of them are city kids. They haven't had much interaction with nature. They're afraid of bugs. These sales are huge for the kids. When someone buys a plant the students have grown, it gives them an enormous sense of accomplishment."

The sales are becoming increasingly popular with the community, too. First-time visitors are pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the plants, as well as the competitive prices.

The plant sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12. There will be a full line of annuals, herbs, hanging baskets, and premium vegetables for gardeners. There will also be a large assortment of succulents suitable for dish gardens or rock gardens and other uncommon garden varieties at reasonable prices.

Stock your summer garden while helping the children of Allendale bloom.

For information, call (847) 245-6361 or visit www.allendale4kids.org. Allendale is one mile west of the Route 83/Grand Avenue intersection in Lake Villa.