Cobb and Douglas County Community Services Board

AUSTELL - A group of volunteers is using gardening to help rehabilitate patients suffering from mental illness.

Members of the Master Gardeners of Cobb County teach a weekly class on gardening skills to people participating in the Cobb-Douglas Community Services Board's psychosocial rehabilitation program.

The program is designed to teach everyday tasks to people suffering from mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, to help them lead more normal lives.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are both caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. The community services board offers rehabilitation to people whose illnesses prevent them from living independently.

The classes have ranged in subjects from basic seed planting to butterfly gardens to growing herbs and spices. The group maintains a garden at the community services board's Austell office on Love Street near Veterans Memorial Highway.

"Our goal is to get these people out of their heads and into the real world," said Carole Anderson, program coordinator for the services board. "When someone has been incapacitated by a mental illness for so long they lose the ability to do the everyday things we all take for granted."

Judy Mitchell of Kennesaw, one of the master Gardeners volunteering for the class, said gardening can be a better learning experience than spending time in a classroom.

"Gardening gets them involved," she said. "They can get outside and get their hands in the dirt instead of just sitting back and listening to someone talk."

Ms. Anderson said taking care of a plant helps the patients relate to their own recovery.

"A plant needs more than just water to grow, just like our people need more than just medication," she said. "Planting a seed and nurturing it as it grows is a great metaphor for their own recovery process."

Marcie Windsor of Kennesaw, another volunteer, said the program has been extremely rewarding for the Master Gardeners.

"It's thrilling to see how interested they've become in gardening," she said. It just gives us a high to see the way they respond and get excited about our programs."

Ms. Windsor said the class will continue to teach basic gardening skills this year and will start long-term growing projects when the planting season arrives in January.

The Master Gardeners are also planning to install a serenity garden at the Austell site to give both clients and staff a quiet place for personal reflection.

The Master Gardeners' programs are funded entirely through donations. For more information, call the community services board at (770) 819-9229.