In January of 2024, my role at GreenHouse17 changed from Residential Program Director to Nature-Based Healing Lead. This change in roles was inspired in part by a book called The Nature Fix by Florence Williams. The big idea in the book is that the natural world is a natural healer, and that spending time in a forest or a garden can reduce stress, boost creativity, enhance interpersonal relationships, and improve cognitive functioning. 

These are some bold health claims, and I would be more critical of these claims if I didn’t feel a lot of them in my own body. I also found that I wanted these health benefits for residents and my fellow staff at GreenHouse17.  

The past two years have been an adventure in learning what helps residents of all ages feel welcome outdoors. This has included a number of experiments and wayfinding.  

For example, we have learned that little fingers are great at planting beans, but just okay at planting radishes due to the size of the seeds. We have learned that while consistency of start times is important to any successful programming at shelter, most of our residents only want to be in a garden if the temperature is between 65 and 82 degrees. We have learned that exciting discoveries can compromise a gardening effort, especially if the work crew is younger than 10 years old.  

Exciting discoveries can include worms, millipedes, spiders, hummingbirds, moths, ladybugs, tomato hornworms, beetles, and many other creatures. Another important lesson is that though these discoveries could (and should!) derail work, young people generally do great at their garden jobs.  

In my curiosity about drawing residents outside I hatched a plan to build a simple pizza oven. It is made of cob (a mixture of clay, straw and sand) and uses a wood fire to heat a cooking surface to 800 degrees for a quick thin crust pizza. So just as the growing season was wrapping up this year, I gathered materials and planned the build.  

Over the course of about six weeks, with the help of 8 residents, 11 advocates and 19 volunteers, all of whom got their hands, and sometimes their feet (cob is mixed by stomping on the ingredients with bare feet) very dirty, the oven took shape and is now ready for cooking.   

It is my vision to continue to entice folks outside through the winter to enjoy hot pizza around a fire ring and to celebrate winter’s dormancy together. 

GreenHouse17 is a safe space to be vulnerable, to grow, and even to play. In my personal recovery, the natural world has been an important teacher and occasional dance partner. I hope that through gardening, land stewardship, woods walks, and wood-fired pizza, our residents will be as moved by our 40-acre farm as I have been.   

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