Contributors: Joanna Szabo-Hart; Sonya Flessati; Judy Gleeson; Genevieve Currie; Elaine Schow; Bev Mathison; Alana-Dawn Eirikson; Janet Melrose, Calgary’s Cottage Gardener.

Community gardens have been found to contribute to a number of health, social and ecological benefits. Revitalizing the MRU community garden, which has been underutilized in the summer session at the university, to include neighboring seniors and community volunteers was seen by a group of interdisciplinary researchers as one way to revitalize individual and community health. Guided by eco-health and permaculture principles, a participatory action research project was undertaken to explore an inclusive group horticultural therapy program for neighboring seniors groups and community volunteers. Specifically, experiences of inclusion in the garden as well as barriers and benefits to participation were studied during the 2015 project