Nation’s first Trauma-Focused Garden

 

 

Dear TFTC Gardens Volunteers and Supporters,

We are very thrilled to announce to you all that we have finally achieved one of our many milestones in creating the world’s first Trauma-Focused Gardens! As you all know, Dr. Donnelly has worked towards this goal for the past 4 years with the Cumberland Juvenile Justice Department to create the concept, develop it, apply for grants, and get us involved in this futuristic project!  We all had the wonderful opportunity to work and strive together for the past two years with each one of you contributing your precious time and expertise to bring it to fruition.

Well, this day brings us great pride to know that our first trauma-focused garden has been created to the best of our ability within the limited scope and time provided to us for this great cause. Along with the beautiful garden, Dr. Donnellly created the 10-week resiliency workshop for the children within the Cumberland Detention center. Due to this worldwide pandemic, Dr. Donnelly was permitted to provide a 6-week resiliency workshop to guide the children by teaching them about stress, and the effects of stress. She was able to utilize the garden as well as the wall mural created by our own artist Ms. Edie Cohn to help children to learn stress management skills through nature.  It was a pleasure to watch the children enjoy and learn to use the garden created by TFTC!  She was joined by volunteer and board member Jayanthi Raghu, who shared her experience using nature to combat PTSD and other stress-related issues.

On September 20th, 2020 a few of the TFTC board members gathered at the Cumberland Detention Center to commemorate the completion of the 6-week Resiliency workshop and the completion of the Trauma focussed garden which was the brainchild of Dr.Natasha Donnelly.

We will be sharing this story in the media shortly and we hope to see all the board members and the volunteers get together after the Covid-19 pandemic is somewhat brought under control.  But for now here are some of the shots that were taken at the  Cumberland Juvenile Justice center.

A big thank you to all of our wonderful Volunteers and Supporters!!!  Yay, we did it!!