Our Girl Scouts from Troop 63009 started a monthly gardening club with residents at Arbor Terrace Basking Ridge as part of their Silver Award project — a story Basking Ridge Patch recently covered. Aviana Efraimov, Rachel Ellis, Kate Marcoff, and Natalie Tomaich planted an indoor herb garden and an outdoor vegetable garden alongside residents. They also built wheelchair-accessible planter boxes and wrote instruction guides, so the gardens keep growing long after the project ends.
Aviana and Kate didn't have to look far. They had watched their own grandfather live with dementia, and they saw his world get smaller as his mental health declined. "That personal experience inspired us to step in and make a difference," Aviana shared.
The plants were never really the point. The scouts led nature-themed sensory activities alongside the planting. Touching herbs, smelling basil, passing a tomato around the table — these things start conversations. Residents shared stories about their own gardens, and they got to know each other better.
Accessibility was designed in from the start. The teens worked with their Industrial Arts teacher to build planter boxes that meet wheelchair users at the right height. A garden nobody can reach isn't a garden. It's a decoration.
They planned for the day they leave. The scouts wrote instructional guides so our team members and residents can maintain the gardens on their own. That's the difference between a nice afternoon and a real program.
Thank you, Aviana, Rachel, Kate, and Natalie for the gardens, and for everything growing around them.
You can read the full story on Basking Ridge Patch.