There is growing evidence that interactions with nature result in physiological, psychological, and social benefits. The physical act of gardening has been shown to improve mental health by reducing depression and anxiety in adults with clinical depression and increasing emotional well-being in the general population. (NIH National Library of Medicine, published online April 22, 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9100102/ 

The Nutrition Education Program at the University of Kentucky has been pairing nutrition education with gardening education in the recovery center setting for the last 3.5 years. In 2020, efforts were moved beyond a pilot program and expanded to include 8 programmatic counties and the development of the Recovery Garden Toolkit. (https://kers.ca.uky.edu/core/reports/Story/s/9875/2021)

With the intention of teaching healthy lifestyle habits and increasing emotional well-being, Nutrition Education Assistant has served on the Recovery Garden Toolkit committee through the process, having helped the Horticulture agent with the raised bed program at The Healing Place of Campbellsville for a number of years. In 2022, their garden beds produced a total of 96.5 pounds of produce, including 20 heads of garlic and 21 pounds of cherry tomatoes, yielding about 401 cups at the total price of $210.85 ($237.34 adjusted for inflation). Specialists, agents and assistants contributed to the development of the toolkit by serving in breakout groups and providing advice from experiences. The Nutrition Education Assistant participated in the recovery garden recruitment zoom and moderated a break out room, as well as telling the story of The Healing Place's journey to garden beds at the April 2023 Zoom training.  The Healing Place and Taylor County Extension were awarded one of the first year grants for existing programs to expand their gardens. Spring planting included onions and lettuce, with a new bed installed in May that was planted in cherry tomatoes and bell peppers, on the theme of salad gardens. Garlic planted in October will be harvested in July. The men currently in nutrition education classes are responsible for the upkeep and harvesting of the beds.