Man blends his love for healing, plants into horticultural therapy

PITTSFIELD — Bill Wright describes horticultural therapy as both an art and a science, using horticultural activities to build self-esteem and self-worth by nurturing plants.

After working in the medical field for 22 years as a respiratory therapist, Wright, of Detroit, decided to make a career change. But he didn’t quite want to give up the patient contact. He chose instead to combine his love for plants with his great fondness of people and a commitment to healing.

Five years ago, he enrolled in the horticultural program at the University of Maine, in pursuit of a new career as a horticultural therapist.

“I’ve always been interested in horticulture, so I chose to blend the two disciplines,” he said. “The goal is to set people up for success. You design the project according to the patients’ abilities.”

A therapist makes an assessment of the person’s physical, mental and emotional abilities, likes and dislikes. Sometimes adaptive devices need to be designed to accommodate physical handicaps or something as simple as the limits of arthritis in elderly patients.

“Projects are geared to having people start the seeds, watch them grow and see the end product.”

Only a couple of courses shy of a bachelor’s degree, Wright said it was a lot of hard work and simple perseverance to keep up his full-time job at Sebasticook Valley Hospital and complete his coursework. His goals also included volunteer work and networking in his new field.

Most of his years in the medical field have been at SVH, where hospital Administrator Ann Morrison said the facility has benefited from its association with him.

“Together with the Pittsfield Garden Club, Bill was instrumental in designing the parking islands during the building program,” she said. “And Bill keeps an eye on the current landscaping for us. Quite often, during his morning break, you can see Bill out there pulling weeds.”

This fall, Wright will be designing the “SVH Garden,” which is a project to complete an internship requirement.

“It’s a garden that will serve the patients of the hospital and the two adjoining nursing homes,” he said.

The garden will be located next to the ambulance garage, facing Leighton Street, so that it will be accessible to both nursing homes. The focal point will be a gazebo for the patients’ enjoyment. Plans also include raised flower beds for therapeutic purposes; 18-inch raised flower beds, as well as 34-inch elevated beds that are accessible for those in wheelchairs.

“The hospital gladly OK’d the project, because it fits in well with our mission and our plans for a community network,” Morrison said. “We appreciate Bill’s efforts and are very proud to have such a talented and thoughtful individual on our staff.”

“I’ve seen horticultural therapy work,” said Wright, who spent a semester doing volunteer work with psychiatric patients at Togus. “They really seemed to enjoy the activities, although the space allotted to horticultural therapy was small because it was part of vocational rehab.”

So far, Wright is the only person in his program who is interested in this specialty, and it’s made him a resource for the university. He belongs to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, New England chapter, and attends frequent workshops.