Using the five senses, Longmont Estates Elementary built a garden this year to teach mindfulness to its students.
The sensory garden, built this spring, provides students with “an outdoor classroom space that encourages interdisciplinary hands-on learning, as well as a space for rejuvenation and regulation,” Longmont Estates Elementary Counselor Erin Wise said.
According to Wise, the garden features a variety of sensory-stimulating items and activities including: musical instruments, a garden bridge, a butterfly house, butterfly sculptures, an art installation and rocks painted by teachers and students, raised beds for planting seeds and growing fruit, herbs and vegetables, as well as plants with calming properties.
“We tried to include plants like lavender with a strong, calming smell and lamb's ear, which is soft to the touch,” she said. “A crowd favorite is the iris that smells like grape soda.”
Wise spearheaded the creation of the sensory garden by drawing upon her background in horticultural therapy and, specifically, on the healing properties of gardens and plants, she said.
“Many of our students, whether due to trauma, learning differences or mental health challenges, struggle to express their emotions in ways that are non-disruptive,” Wise said.
With the sensory garden, students can use their senses of smell and touch to calm themselves, she said.
“Plants have so many properties that can help students in their development, and gardening is fun too. When paired with mindfulness techniques, a school sensory garden can also contribute to students’ emotional health,” Wise said.
The garden — which is used as an instruction location for social-emotional learning — will become available to the public during non-school hours and as the academic calendar allows, “making the garden a true asset to not only our school community but the greater Longmont community,” Wise said.
Although Wise is currently the main caretaker of the sensory garden, she hopes to start an after school club in the 2022-23 school year to involve students in its upkeep.
“I hope it is a space where students can go to practice mindfulness, to take a break if they are feeling overwhelmed or stressed or to just play,” Wise said.
