The Winter Park Memorial Hospital has partnered with Fleet Farming to introduce wheelchair-accessible garden beds to their campus. What better way to represent a mission towards health and wellness, than to grow vibrant, happy veggies as an oasis for nature and health? This edible landscape will now be providing high-yielding produce to feed the community year-round. What was once an empty courtyard is now a place of peace, solace, and tranquility for staff, patients, and visitors. Planted right below the Intensive Care Unit, patients can now look outside of their windows and be greeted with a piece of nature and community on what would otherwise be underutilized lawn space.
The accessible garden is a billboard of health and wellness for Florida Hospital, which can now guarantee a holistic healing space for long-term ICU patients. The fact that they can step outside and breathe the same fresh air as the butterflies that surround the garden’s flowers will undoubtedly enable and expedite their recovery.
After two days of teamwork, the six raised beds were built and ready. Dozens of volunteers and interns contributed their time and energy to the build, and Millers Hardware were kind enough to donate enough red mulch to put the final beautiful touches. “We need to be intentional with everything that we do, and not just within our walls. We need to be intentional with our mission in our community,” says Justin Birmele, Vice President of Operations at WPMH. “Supplying healthy, whole organic fruits and vegetables is very important to us in our mission.” Healthy eating is vital for seniors and patients in healing. With this addition to the Florida Hospital, patients now have access to fresh organic produce for them to take home and continue in their healing process.
We’d like to thank the members of the Winter Park Memorial Hospital and all those who came out to help create this edible landscape in our mission to change the cycle of food.
Interested in adding an edible landscape to your business or home? Contact us here.