Last year, Hennepin County Master Gardener Program intern Christina Waters, a dietetic technician at Episcopal Homes in St. Paul, saw an opportunity to engage the elderly residents—isolated because of COVID-19—by pairing them with the county’s master gardeners and interns who were seeking ways to contribute to the community at a time when volunteer opportunities were restricted. Waters, who’s now a certified master gardener, then established and currently facilitates Virtual Garden Tours for Elders, a program through which volunteers share gardening images and stories with elders remotely, one-on-one, for 30 minutes at a time.
For volunteer Elizabeth Gorman, the program offered a sense of connection, along with a chance to improve her photography skills and computer savvy. Though her earliest presentations featured multiple photos per screen and took lots of effort to prepare, she learned to simplify them. Now, Gorman shares no more than 12 to 15 photos per presentation, shows just one photo at a time, and includes mostly close-ups, which are easier to see on screen. Gorman says the program has made her more observant; she’s better attuned to the environment and always looking for subjects to photograph and share.
Because there’s no prescribed curriculum or format, the program encourages volunteers to describe their experiences with gardens and nature in their own way. For some of her presentations, volunteer Barb Gasterland has simply held up her phone in the prairie she planted in her yard and shown what’s happening there at that moment. She’s also found that the elders, many of whom had their own “victory gardens” when they were younger, enjoy seeing pictures of the vegetables she grows.
For other presentations, Gasterland has shown slides from her travels, including past visits to renowned gardens such as Pennsylvania’s Chanticleer Garden and Longwood Gardens. One of the elders with whom Gasterland shared her photos had also been to Longwood; she recalled and described her visit there years ago with enthusiasm.
Closer to home, volunteer Linda Wilkins likes to visit Normandale Community College’s Japanese Garden and share photos of it at different times of the year. She also shows elders pictures of the fairy garden she’s created at her home and of the way she constructed a garden in her front yard by removing grass, amending soil, placing boulders, and planting sun-loving perennials and annuals. Wilkins’ dog, Milo, features prominently in her photos and, she says, the elders love to talk about him and about the pets they’ve had.
Each volunteer I spoke to had participated in the program several times—at some points as often as once or twice a month, sometimes with the same elder and sometimes with different elders—and described its many benefits, both to the elders and themselves: a sense of purpose, connection, and engagement—even when the elder isn’t talkative.
I was nervous for my first presentation last month, but the elder with whom I was paired put me at ease: “I like your haircut,” she began.
“Thanks so much,” I answered. A few pleasantries later, I was ready to begin my presentation, which, I realized, would be more a conversation than anything else.
I started with a coral peony from my garden.
“The color!” She exclaimed.
In total, I showed 20 photos from my garden and neighborhood. The elder’s favorite photos included the peony, my German shepherd in our backyard, and the woods near Cedar Lake—a five-minute walk from my home—covered in cottonwood so thick it looked like snow.
My call lasted about 30 minutes. When it ended, I felt energized.
As I spoke to other program participants, I realized my response wasn’t unique. “It just brings me up,” said Gasterland, who volunteered because she has spent much of her life around elderly people. And Wilkins, who runs a business that provides support for elderly who are isolated or alone, said of her participation in the program, “If I can do my part in this way, I’m thrilled.”
Though I’ve participated only once, I enjoyed it wholeheartedly. I’m going to sign up again. Soon.
By Laura Austrian
