{"id":11765,"date":"2025-10-08T08:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T12:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/babylonmicrofarms.com\/?p=11765"},"modified":"2025-10-08T08:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T12:57:12","slug":"sheltering-arms-gardening-as-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/babylonmicrofarms.com\/sheltering-arms-gardening-as-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheltering Arms Program Puts a 21st-Century Twist on Gardening as Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"704\"><span class=\"ArtP-authorBy\">VPM News | By Adrienne Hoar McGibbon<br \/>\nPublished October 7, 2025, at 11:00 AM EDT<\/p>\n<p><\/span>At Sheltering Arms Institute in Richmond, participants in the Club Rec program are discovering the therapeutic benefits of hydroponic gardening through a partnership with Babylon Micro-Farms. The program, designed to help stroke survivors and individuals with physical disabilities rebuild motor skills, now includes hands-on gardening and cooking activities centered around Babylon\u2019s indoor micro-farm.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"706\" data-end=\"1035\">Members cultivate herbs and greens year-round, using them in group cooking sessions that encourage dexterity, confidence, and creativity. Occupational therapist Nicole Stauffer has seen firsthand how growing and preparing food fosters independence and community among participants \u2014 from grating cheese to harvesting basil.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1037\" data-end=\"1268\">The initiative was made possible through charitable support and inspired by Babylon\u2019s National Sales Director, Sharon Rettinger, whose own family experience with stroke recovery highlighted the power of horticultural therapy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1391\">As Club Rec volunteer William Berry put it, \u201cIf you don\u2019t use it, you lose it. Every day, you need to stay active.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1391\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vpm.org\/news\/2025-10-07\/sheltering-arms-club-rec-hydroponic-gardening-local-food-stauffer-berry\"><strong>Read the full story on VPM News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1391\">Interested in bringing the benefits of indoor farming to your facility? <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bo83e.share.hsforms.com\/2h2EkCDugQfqXjZ25KX002A\">Book a demo<\/a><\/strong> to learn how our turnkey hydroponic systems can support health, wellness, and rehabilitation programs year-round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VPM News | By Adrienne Hoar McGibbon Published October 7, 2025, at 11:00 AM EDT At Sheltering Arms Institute in Richmond, participants in the Club Rec program are discovering the therapeutic benefits of hydroponic gardening through a partnership with Babylon Micro-Farms. The program, designed to help stroke survivors and individuals with physical disabilities rebuild motor [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":11767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-babylon-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sheltering Arms Program Puts a 21st-Century Twist on Gardening as Therapy - Babylon Micro-Farms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sheltering Arms uses Babylon Micro-Farms to enhance rehabilitation and wellness programs through indoor 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