Gardening as Medicine for Mental Health

Atullya Singh, CAMH Garden Co-ordinator with Foodshare, talks about the Sunshine Garden at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

The garden is the bridge.

For clients of The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, one way to connect with the surrounding community is through gardening.

Atullya Singh, CAMH Garden Co-ordinator, talks about the Sunshine Garden, located at the main hospital site in downtown Toronto.

When neighbours drop by for the weekly market where CAMH clients sell produce grown on site, Singh considers it as an opportunity to make stronger bonds with the community. “My mission is only accomplished if I have these customers connected to the actual garden,” he explains as he describes taking them over to see the garden.

Horticultural Therapy

Along with community connections, the garden is a way of providing horticultural therapy for CAMH clients. Singh explains that for some people, the social aspects are therapeutic. For others, it’s having something to focus on. For others, its being outdoors.

The garden is a joint venture between CAMH and a Toronto organization called Foodshare, which supports community-based food initiatives. .