Students bring ‘Flower Power’ to residents of long-term care
>> Students from Souderton Area High School’s S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violating the Earth) have started taking the power of flowers to residents of Peter Becker Community and Living Branches Senior Living.
The first delivery of donated succulents took place this spring, the school district said in a release.
“The students grew the succulents at the school’s greenhouse and developed a program called ‘Flower Power,’ where twice every year students will deliver and donate plants which are intended to bring joy and happiness to residents. This connection is just another example of how students and community can come together for mutual benefit and opportunity,” the release said.
The students were inspired to start the program after reading an article that discussed statistics showing that “hospital patients recover faster when there are plants or flowers in their rooms than if there are none,” Ian Burley, SAVE advisor, wrote in an email for this article.
“We wanted to bring that concept to local retirement communities and allow residents to feel happier, bring back memories or
just enjoy having plants as a companion,” he said.
The plan is to deliver plants to both Peter Becker Community and Living Branches at Christmas and in the spring, he said.
The plants will be grown in the greenhouse by students in the school’s Greenhouse Growers club, who will grow the plants from seedlings or stem cuttings, he said.
“The SAHS Greenhouse was made possible by funding from The Indian Valley Education Foundation and was dedicated in May of 2019,” the release said.