NeighborHealth Wellness Garden
Growing Strong
The NeighborHealth Wellness Garden is a community space for more than two dozen families, many of whom farmed or gardened in their home countries, to cultivate their own small piece of land here in Boston.
Our gardeners hail from many countries including Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Morocco. They look forward to the opportunity to spend time outside, teach their children about where food comes from, nurture their garden plots, share their knowledge and expertise with other members of the garden community, and eventually enjoy the fruits of their labor when it comes time to harvest.
The Wellness Garden, which launched in 2011, is a meaningful commitment to holistic health and preventive medicine. By empowering patients to grow their own food, NeighborHealth helps families make personal investments in their health through the hands-on nature of gardening. Eating well does not have to be expensive, and this initiative shows that with a little sweat and dedication, growing roots to a healthier future is an achievable goal.
Participants of the Wellness Garden are NeighborHealth patients. The majority participate in the Let’s Get Movin’ program, a lifestyle change program for children, teens, and their families.
Lack of access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food is at the root of chronic, diet-related illness. The garden is a valuable resource for the community as a whole, providing families the tools to grow their own food at a very low cost all season long.
Marika Horsky is a Main Streets board member, Eagle Hill Civic Association member, and one of our original Wellness Garden participants. “I picked up an application to be an NeighborHealth gardener at the Harborside Community Center’s ‘Stir a Memory’ workshop and was truly overjoyed when I heard that I was accepted,” Marika explained.
“Cultivating a community garden is importantly the opportunity to cultivate existing and new friendships with my neighbors,” said Marika. “When you know your neighbors, you feel a deeper sense of belonging in a community and so you can take pride in it! To me, initiatives such as NeighborHealth’s new community garden, thanks to which residents from all walks of life have an opportunity to connect and find common ground, are the building block of a healthy community. I also praise NeighborHealth for paving the way to transform a part of an unwelcoming parking lot into a blossoming garden. Now that’s urban beautifying at its best!”
The NeighborHealth Wellness Garden is a model for other community health centers and community health workers who are looking for ways to create sustainable improvements in health outcomes through education, development, and empowerment. The public is warmly invited to stop by the garden as the season progresses and check out what plants are popping up.
