Horticultural Therapy and Bartiméus Education: Recent Developments in the Netherlands

This article deals with three recent developments in the Netherlands regarding horticulture therapy and the work of Bartiméus Education. Bartiméus Education developed gardening as part of an empowering curriculum for visually impaired pupils at a special secondary school In recognizing the impact of a visual impairment on the acquisition of common knowledge and skills, Bartiméus Education started to think of new and innovative ways to support self-empowerment in pupils with visual impairments. One of the outcomes was a beautiful garden of 2500 square meters where pupils deliberately learn to use their remaining senses. The garden is a place where they work, have fun, and acquire knowledge and skills that will support their transition to adulthood and society. Starting in the early 1990s, Bartiméus developed a wide range of services for the growing number of adults with visual impairments. These elderly people were looking eagerly for meaningful ways to spend their time. Gardening proved to have great potential for some of them. The specialized knowledge and skills developed and the expertise Bartiméus gradually acquired by focusing on the other senses made them much wanted partners in other fields of social service provision. This led to close co-operation with Natuurlijk Genieten, a foundation that aims at supporting and stimulating horticultural therapy as an indispensable provision for elderly people in residential homes.