Anthony Martinez mans a garden rake, overturning leaves and dirt in a hunt for earthworms.
“I know there’s going to be a lot,” Martinez says. He is the master composter here at River Kourt Apartments, a supervised-living apartment building for people with brain trauma. Maggie Matoba commends Martinez on his composting skills.
“No one else does it,” Martinez says. He helped build the first compost bin in the garden at the rear of the courtyard.
“Composting isn’t easy,” Matoba says.
Here several raised beds are decorated with scarecrows or flowers, with plants flourishing in most. One is meticulously planted, each sprout distinct and neat. Martinez’s is chaotic, with herbs he can’t remember the names of sprouting up in all directions.
Matoba is the founder of Healing Harvest, a non-profit in Eugene dedicated to creating adapted gardening opportunities for people facing different types of challenges. Matoba has been working at the River Kourt garden for four years, helping Martinez and other residents to grow food, herbs and flowers.
Martinez has been in group homes and hospitals most of his life. When he was 14, a car carrying him, his grandfather and his cousin was struck by another vehicle. All the passengers were thrown from the car, and Martinez was the only one to survive. He hit the pavement and cracked his skull.
“I was told I was put in a pool of ice ’cause I was really hot,” he says. “I died a few times.”
Martinez was in a coma for two or three months. Now, at 46, he is glad to live in this complex. He has more freedom and can go on walks. He has his own apartment. And he has the garden.
Healing Harvest began installing and designing gardens in residential care facilities around Eugene after Matoba finished a horticulture therapy program in Portland five years ago.
“Gardening is not a be all, end all therapy, but horticulture is being used more and more in rehabilitation,” she said. Gardening is a popular hobby in the U.S., and Matoba said the boomer generation will soon need accommodation to do it.
“I’m a baby boomer. We comprise a great portion of the population and gardening is the number-one hobby in the United States,” she said.
“Statistically, horticulture therapy just makes sense,” she said. Matoba said she wants more formal research into the benefits of horticultural therapy and at River Kourt, “the things we have done have been amazing for these folks.”
Matoba would like to see a horticultural therapy program at the University. She sees River Kourt as a place that could be fertile ground for new graduates to learn.
Gaye Horton, the association director of the American Horticultural Therapy Association based in Kentucky, said the group is working to get the medical community to recognize the value of horticultural therapy and convince insurance companies to reimburse its costs.
“I think it’s psychological as well as physical,” she said. “It provides a distraction from people’s physical ailments and problems.”
Just improving access to garden areas is a place to start, she said.
There are many factors to consider when planning an adapted garden. One issue at River Kourt is the lack of shade. Matoba said it affects Martinez, who is prone to seizures. She said they try to get most of the maintenance of the gardens done in fall and spring.
“For me, maintenance is the key,” Matoba said. Matoba’s own health affects her ability to garden, and she has tricks that make gardening easier. “I think that’s why I do what I do,” she said.
Matoba said she believes horticultural therapy makes a big difference. “It’s been a saving grace to the people who participate in the program,” she said. “It gives them a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Plus they get to eat healthy things out of the garden.”
Matoba’s workshops teach about techniques such as raising the bed so it can be accessed in a sitting position. They also cover some of the available adapted tools.
“There’s plenty of ways and plenty of methods. It still can be done,” Matoba said.
Patty Prather, the program supervisor for adapted recreation services at the Hilyard Community Center, said the workshops are “about getting connected and back into gardening.”
She said many people could benefit from learning adapted gardening techniques, including those who are interested in building gardens where they work.
Matoba offers classes at the Hilyard Community Center, and in other ways, from visiting residential facilities and consulting with them about designing an adapted garden to community education efforts with the Adapted Garden Committee.
Prather said Matoba fills a niche in the adaptive world by providing people the tools to garden.
“Her whole goal is the healing part of getting your hands in the dirt or watching things grow,” Prather said.
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Get Involved
Maggie Matoba will teach the Hilyard Community Center’s Adaptive Gardening Workshop May 19, which will include tips on building a raised garden plot, accessibility and safety issues, and tools that can make gardening easier for those with disabilities or decreased mobility.
The Hilyard Community Center, 2580 Hilyard St., does not have its own garden plot yet. Matoba said there are a few limitations the center faces to creating a full-fledged garden. For now, Patty Prather says the large cement flowerpots surrounding the center need care.
There are still several slots available for the workshop. The fee is $5. Contact the Hilyard Community Center Adaptive Recreation Center at (541) 346-5311.
Healing Harvest accepts volunteers, as well as garden tools and donations. They can be reached at (541) 915-0599.
The City of Eugene Community Garden Program can be reached at 541-682-4800.
At A Glance
The City of Eugene provides six community gardens for residents to rent, and one in Alton Baker Park contains 12 raised beds, said Justin Grishkin, a co-manager of the community gardens program in Eugene.
“Ideally we’d have accessible beds at each garden, but that’s mainly where we’re focusing our efforts,” Grishkin said. Gravel paths to the beds are covered in Americans with Disabilities Act-approved gravel.
Grishkin said there are improvements he would like to make to the city plots. The Alton Baker site needs a ramp into its shed, and Grishkin would like to install bars above the plots to help users stay balanced while reaching into the beds.
Grishkin knows users want a restroom installed, and he would like to provide some adapted tools as well, but said funding limits what improvements his program can make. “The program operates basically on a shoestring,” he said.
– Jill Aho