Therapeutic Horticulture is an important part of the Urban Extension programming we offer in New Hanover County, home to the coastal city of Wilmington, NC. We use gardening and other nature-based activities to work with a wide range of populations to achieve an equally diverse set of goals. Plants provide a way to connect and break down barriers between groups of people who may be unfamiliar with each other, or even people who live in the same community but for various reasons have little contact.

One such project, a decade in the making is, “Green Creekwood,” an initiative to bring pocket gardens to a public housing neighborhood which experiences high unemployment, gang violence and limited access to fresh foods.

Mentoring long time resident, Sonya Muldrow, and using gardening as our modality, our Ability Garden program supported Ms. Muldrow, through the Extension Master Gardener program, funded her as a community garden captain through an American Public Garden Association Award, and advised her on starting her own nonprofit, which recently applied for its first grant. To date the program has supported 17 pocket gardens, as well as growing houseplant collections for residents who are waiting for garden beds or unable to garden outside. Ms. Muldrow has become an advocate for her community, Creekwood has gained positive focal points that the neighbors use to work together and support each other.

The primary goal of this project was to address limited access to fresh foods, but we also addressed community isolation, built skills in advocacy and cooperation, fostered increased interest in being outdoors, and collaborated with residents to build focal points they can be proud of. We look forward to supporting this community for years to come, as gardening becomes an integral part of their experience.

For more information on this program, contact Heather Kelejian, hlkeleji@ncsu.edu