The Stephanie Ann Smith Traveling Trophy for Garden Therapy is awarded annually to a Garden Club demonstrating the best, active Garden Therapy program. This year the award has made its way to Boothbay for the deserving work of co-chairs Nan Jackson and Karen Gilbert of the Boothbay Region Garden Club (BRGC).

Every month Nan and Karen coordinate with Jerie Phinney, St Andrews Village activities director, to plan colorful projects that are designed to be "enjoyable and achievable" by the residents of the Gregory Wing, Assisted Living and Safe Havens.

The projects are often tied to seasonal celebrations and make use of materials from nature whenever possible. The Smith Traveling Trophy is given for activities organized from January through November and is awarded at the Garden Club Federation of Maine Annual State Convention held in June each year. The winning club is then eligible to be considered for an award for continuing work through the New England Region of Garden Clubs comprised of groups throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The remarkable variety displayed over the year in the choice of materials, designs and activities demonstrates that a great amount of creativity and thought goes into the projects chosen by the Garden Therapy committee. Some examples of crafts completed in 2014 have included bright wreaths decorated with uniquely shaped snowflakes for winter, paper kites with colorful cloth tails that foretold the arrival of spring, and May and June projects which took the residents out into the garden to pot herbs, start strawberry plants and seed the vegetable beds. As the weather warmed and Maine gardens flourished, the therapy committee members contributed flowers from their home gardens to guide residents in the art of flower arranging resulting in colorful fresh bouquets for every resident's room. And, as the growing season began to fade, a September activity treated participants to a more lasting remembrance of summer with the creation of individually decorated sachets filled with lavender, spearmint or balsam. Fall would not be the same without the mention of Halloween and seasonal holiday reminders help keep residents oriented in time. This year, 40 mini pumpkins were transformed into silly faces with straw hats. Visitors to the Gregory Wing in November will enjoy a "Give Thanks" banner that was created in felt and decorated with oak and maple leaves and sports stenciled turkeys. The smiling faces of grateful pilgrims accent the banner.

While it is very gratifying to win an award for your organization, the traveling trophy is not the motivation behind the efforts that go into the Garden Therapy Program at BRGC. No, for Nan Jackson it is the joy of assisting "...in creating a project and helping the residents to successfully complete it. One of the best parts of belonging to this committee is seeing their completed handiwork either taken to decorate their rooms or personally delivering it to a resident unable to join the group. The happiness that can be generated in this simple act of sharing the project is truly rewarding."

Karen and Nan welcome other volunteers from the membership the first Tuesday of every month but December to assist with these projects. During the month of December, Garden Therapy directs participating club volunteers in the creation of tray favors to be included with holiday meal deliveries to recipients of Meals on Wheels.

Contact Nan at jackson7580@roadrunner.com or Karen at mainewayne@msn.com if you would like to join them in this "simple act of sharing." For more information on the Smith Trophy and other Garden Club Awards go to www.mainegardenclubs.org