Once a month, several members of the Boothbay Region Garden Club spend a few hours bringing a bit of sunshine and inspiration to a very special local population.

Since 2007, the residents of St. Andrews Village have been benefiting from their association with the BRGC Garden Therapy Committee. The program originally began in 2003 with a mission to care for the gardens established outside Safe Havens.

Four years later the program moved indoors with a new purpose in mind. Garden Therapy now meets for the "hands on" enjoyment of the residents of the Gregory Wing, Safe Havens and the Assisted Living Units by providing garden related projects that can be completed in one session.

The residents, with guidance from the Garden Club volunteers, exercise their imaginations in a safe and supportive environment that also provides the participants an opportunity to socialize.

The group meets year round on the first Tuesday of every month except December. Funding for materials are an annual budget item for the Garden Club but donations of craft and flower supplies from the community are gratefully accepted. The projects take their themes from nature and often mark special holiday celebrations and are usually something residents can take with them back to their rooms.

This month's flurry of activity on Garden Therapy day involved the arranging of fresh summer flowers which were brought to the residents by the Garden Club volunteers from their own home gardens. Every unique arrangement was then used to decorate resident rooms as well as the common community areas.

This program helps augment the St. Andrews Village social programming and enriches the lives of the residents who participate. The Garden Therapy Committee is only one of several within the Garden Club that reaches out to benefit the community. New members to the Garden Club are always welcome and can contact Sandra Abernathy (207-633-0392) or Alice Schambra (207-633-7162) for more information.