After a career in sales, Raymond LaRocque was ready for a relaxed retirement with plans to perfect his golf game. At 55, however, plans changed following a spinal cord injury attributed to an autoimmune response. “I wouldn’t change a thing though,” declared LaRocque,...

A while back, I wrote a post featuring gardening tools designed to simplify gardening for individuals of all abilities. Now that the weather is so bright and warm, I just felt the need to explore the world of accessible gardening again!  Unlike my previous post, which...

F Unit, the hospital's geriatric and long term care unit, has created a sensory garden that encourages movement and conversation as well as stimulating the senses of sight, touch, smell and sound. Clinicians also use the gardens to help organize activities and provide...

Troop 36 Life Scout, Paul Cessna, is planning an Eagle Scout Project, which will benefit the Life Skills students of Bellville Junior High School. The Eagle Scout Project consists of installing handicapped accessible vegetable gardens and flower beds benefiting the...

One of the many rewards for living through a winter in the Northeast is, spring. Almost overnight it seems buds appear on the trees and daffodils and crocuses poke through the earth. My heart cheers as they tenaciously push through a late snow and I am itching to get...

Older adults who spend time gardening are more likely to eat healthier foods, and report better quality of life and higher energy levels than other seniors who don't garden, according to new research. Poor diet and lack of exercise are major contributors to increased...

This phrase on the Web site of Westerly Health Center in Westerly, Rhode Island, speaks volumes: “Optimal well being not only depends on where you live, but how you live.” Director Susan Misto Hebert and activity director Gerry McVeigh, along with their dedicated...

For many who had always had a garden in their younger years, the accessible, raised vegetable gardens recently installed at Morgan Health Centre brought back memories of working the soil and harvesting the fruits of their labor. For others, it provided an opportunity...

Within five minutes of speaking with 94-year-old Mike Cafone, anyone can discover where his passion lies. A resident of the Westerly Health Center, Mike counts the duties of tending the center's gardens as one of his main responsibilities and pleasures – weeding,...

Like turning lemons into lemonade, Westerly resident Raymond LaRocque turned a career-ending injury into a new hobby and business enterprise. When a spinal cord injury took him out of sales and put him into a wheelchair five years ago, LaRocque took up gardening. A...