I had the privilege of being involved in gardening on my second fieldwork placement. On Thursday morning I would take five clients to the community gardens where tasks were to be completed. These gentlemen had all acquired a brain injury during their life. Gardening gave them the opportunity to contribute to the community and have a feeling of self-independence. I would delegate tasks to the individuals as well as supervise them. This role of mine changed over the weeks and I became a mere spectator and a great gardener if I do say so myself. I observed how gardening gave these men the chance to do, be, become and belong.
Do, be, become and belong
DO - The concept of doing includes purposeful, goal-oriented activities; doing has been a traditional preoccupation of occupational therapy (Hammell, 1998a).
BE -Being has been defined as time taken to reflect, be introspective or meditative, (re)discover the self, savour the moment, appreciate nature, art or music in a contemplative manner and to enjoy being with special people (Hammell, 1998a).
BE -Being has been defined as time taken to reflect, be introspective or meditative, (re)discover the self, savour the moment, appreciate nature, art or music in a contemplative manner and to enjoy being with special people (Hammell, 1998a).
BECOMING - “Becoming” describes the idea that people can envision future selves and possible lives, explore new opportunities and harbour ideas about who or what they wish to become over the course of their biographies and how their lives might be experienced as worthwhile (Hammell, 1998a).
BELONG - Rebeiro et al. (2001) used the term belonging to describe the necessary contribution of social interaction, mutual support and friendship, and the sense of being included, to occupational performance and life satisfaction.
Image 1 - Weeding garden.
Image 2 - Walking with shovel in hand to dig hole.
Image 3 - Cutting the grass.
Image 4 - Planting a seedling.
Image 5 and 13 - Watering the tomato tree.
Image 6 - Appreciating the beauty of a tomato.
Image 7 - Taking time to reflect in a park.
Image 8, 9 and 10 - Smelling the scent of the flowers.
Image 11 - Cutting the tomato off the stalk.
Image 12 - The growing of a seed into a plant.
Image 14 - Meditating in the park.
Image 15 - Sitting with the bushes.
Image 16 and 19 - Working together in the garden.
Image 17 - two people holding a plant.
Image 18 - Lying in the grass.
Image 20 - Comic relief.
Three examples of ethical considerations.
To insure that I stayed within the ethical boundaries I used images that were authentic from the online sources and used websites that allowed for users to copy and paste images freely. Informed consent was granted for images taken by my personal camera and I used myself as a model in various images. I also took into consideration any images that may offend a particular population group.
Image 1 - Weeding garden.
Image 2 - Walking with shovel in hand to dig hole.
Image 3 - Cutting the grass.
Image 4 - Planting a seedling.
Image 5 and 13 - Watering the tomato tree.
Image 6 - Appreciating the beauty of a tomato.
Image 7 - Taking time to reflect in a park.
Image 8, 9 and 10 - Smelling the scent of the flowers.
Image 11 - Cutting the tomato off the stalk.
Image 12 - The growing of a seed into a plant.
Image 14 - Meditating in the park.
Image 15 - Sitting with the bushes.
Image 16 and 19 - Working together in the garden.
Image 17 - two people holding a plant.
Image 18 - Lying in the grass.
Image 20 - Comic relief.
Three examples of ethical considerations.
To insure that I stayed within the ethical boundaries I used images that were authentic from the online sources and used websites that allowed for users to copy and paste images freely. Informed consent was granted for images taken by my personal camera and I used myself as a model in various images. I also took into consideration any images that may offend a particular population group.
References
Hammel, K. W. (1998a). From the neck up: Quality in life following high spinal cord injury. Vancouver, BC: The University of British Columbia , Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Robeiro, K.L., Day, D., Semeniuk, B., O’Brien, M., & Wilson, B. (2001). Northern initiative for social action: An occupation-based mental health program. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55, 493-500.
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