Modern Gardening Club leads summer camp art project

Terry Willis and Janice Johnson, both members of the Modern Gardening Club, recently helped lead campers at the Reeves Center summer camp in an arts and crafts project they could take home with them and enjoy throughout the rest of summertime.

Charlotte Reeves, outreach coordinator for the Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery, who was on hand to assist the camp, explained their work. “We took a small pot and filled it with soil and planted zinnia seeds. The campers also make garden art which was a pinwheel using glitter paper to display in their flowerpot.”

“We are hoping for some noticeable growth in one to two weeks,” she said. “They got to take these items home to care for them, so they can have beautiful flowers soon.”

Reeves said the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently started a campaign to get kids engaged in art over the summer, and with the help of the Modern Gardners of Mount Airy, many new flowers will soon sprout in Surry County.

She said the 2024 Art of Recovery project aims to highlight the transformative impact of art on mental health. “Through creative expression, individuals can find connection, healing, and empowerment. By promoting artistic avenues as viable tools for coping, self-discovery, and expression this project aspires to break down societal stigma surrounding mental health,” administration officials said.

According to the North Carolina Arts Council, “Research shows that participation in community-based arts programs can reduce delinquency and suspension rates, increase school community attachment, build self-confidence and pro-social skills, cultivate positive conflict resolution skills, and provide constructive opportunities for self-expression.”

According to mental health experts, just the act of getting outside and using their hands to create was a benefit for the campers. However, Anna Hicken of the NC Art Therapy Institute, offered the process of self-expression can have tangible health benefits for people of all ages. “Doing something that’s very present-oriented and grounding is soothing to the nervous system.”

“I feel like art is for everyone... and it’s so healing and it’s such a healthy way to express yourself, to calm yourself down,” she said. “It’s such a healthy distraction when we have so many distractions that are not healthy.”