The Missouri Botanical Garden is partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis to bring nature to guest families during their stay at the West County Ronald McDonald House.
Ronald McDonald Houses provides accommodations for families with hospitalized children at little or no cost with the mission of removing barriers, strengthening families and promoting healing. The Garden is helping enhance those services by providing therapeutic horticulture programs for residents, thanks to the generous support of Dr. Oscar and Barbara Soule.
“Through this partnership, we are building stronger connections to nature while also helping the Ronald McDonald House feel even more like home,” said Jennifer Smith-Simms, Manager of Public Education Programs at the Garden.
Therapeutic Horticulture uses plants and gardening activities to improve a person’s wellbeing by deepening their connection to nature. Garden staff developed a specific therapeutic horticulture program for Ronald McDonald House with the goals of creating a greater sense of home, providing stress-relieving experiences, and an opportunity to connect with nature. The therapeutic horticulture makes monthly visits to the Ronald McDonald House for activities like flower arranging, making herbal infusions for tea, spice sachets, or creating natural mandalas.
Many of the families at the House are from the Caribbean, South American and Central America. The Garden provides bilingual signage, bilingual instructors, and plants from those regions to bring them a bit of home.
“Being so far from home can be scary, but even more so when your child is going through challenging times. Giving them a small hands-on nature break can go a long way,” Smith-Simms said.
This spring, the Garden expanded its partnership at Ronald McDonald House, thanks to a collaboration with local scout Kylie Phipps. For her Eagle Scout project, Phipps designed four raised beds and three containers on the back patio of the home that feature sensory rich plants from tropical regions, including many plants families love to cook with.
“Our collaboration with Missouri Botanical Garden extends to enriching our West County Ronald McDonald House spaces, where we’re cultivating more than just gardens. We’re nurturing hope, resilience, and a sense of home for families,” says Jane Foerstel, Family Services Manager at Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis. “This garden is a source of fresh ingredients that families enjoy using. A guest dad made his ‘special’ chicken marinade this week with scallions and thyme from the patio. We are grateful for this incredible partnership to create an environment where families enjoy the beauty of nature and can cook meals together, fostering moments of comfort, connection, and healing.”
With additional funding to support this project, the Garden will be able to continue to keep the RMHC garden flourishing each season for the families.
The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 165 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display.
About Ronald McDonald House Charities® of St. Louis
Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis provides a home-away-from-home to families of seriously ill children traveling to St. Louis for medical treatment. RMHC programs offer access to quality health care and enable family-centered care, ensuring families are fully supported and actively involved in their children’s treatment. Our organization has grown from an eight-bedroom facility in 1981 to now provide 92 guest rooms in our House program and over 40,000 visitors in the four Ronald McDonald Family Rooms®, which are located inside Mercy Children’s Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit rmhcstl.org.
Information from a Missouri Botanical Garden press release.
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