A Calgary woman is hoping a simple house plant can help seniors feel less alone. Vivian Woods started Growing Gratitude YYC, a grassroots initiative that delivers free indoor plants to seniors who may be lonely, isolated, living with limited mobility or struggling financially. The effort comes as loneliness remains a concern for many older Albertans. Alex Biermann, a University of Calgary researcher who has studied loneliness among older adults, says about one in three older Albertans surveyed reported feeling isolated. He says about one in four also reported feeling left out or lacking companionship. Biermann says social activities can help, but reducing loneliness requires something deeper and more ongoing. He says one key factor is “mattering” — the feeling that people matter in someone else’s life, and that other people matter in theirs. “The way we establish mattering is not through casual, occasional meetings with other people or activities,” Biermann says. “One thing that we can really do to help older adults feel less lonely is essentially invite them into our lives.” Woods says that is what she hopes the plant deliveries can begin to do. Inspired by grandmother The idea was inspired in part by her grandmother, a centenarian who outlived many of her friends. “My grandma lived to be 100 and so she outlived all of her friends and was put in a nursing home in Medicine Hat, and only had my mom as a consistent visitor, and she was very lonely,” Woods says. She says the plants are meant to be more than a gift. She hopes they give seniors something living to care for, while the delivery itself can open the door to a conversation, a visit and, in some cases, a longer-term friendship. “I think it’s a good reminder that they’re not alone, and that we haven’t forgotten them, and that as a community we’re here for them,” Woods says. “And even by delivering a plant, if you want me to come in for a cup of tea, I’ll come in for a cup of tea. It might be the only conversation a senior gets that day.” Woods says a plant can also create routine and a sense of purpose. “A plant isn’t just a plant,” she says. “A plant is it creates a routine, it gives you something to nurture, something to love, it gives you something to look at and just be happy because you’re watching life in your home.” Lonely hallways For Geoffrey Cufflin, the loneliness seniors can feel is familiar. Cufflin says he moved from West Hillhurst, where he knew many of his neighbours, into a building where it took about a year before he got to know anyone. “Along the street, you couldn’t walk a few yards without bumping into a neighbour and having a conversation,” he says. “Up here it was about a year before I even knew anybody in the building.” Cufflin says many people living in similar buildings face the same challenge. “They just didn’t see anybody, and hardly anybody talked to each other,” he says. He says receiving a living plant is welcome because it adds something real to the home. “I have plants, but they’re artificial, they look nice, but this has got a nice odour to it, and it adds a little bit of life to the place,” he says. Growing Gratitude YYC is also delivering plants to seniors living facilities, including Shalem Community Senior Living in Calgary. At Shalem, residents received plants from Woods and Tevagrow, a Calgary indoor plant company. Shirley Polson, a resident at Shalem, says the plants could help encourage people to share advice and start conversations. “It might encourage a bit of sharing,” Polson says. “For example, if I’m not a very good plant person, so I can talk to somebody else who’s good at it.” Dorothy de Vuyst, executive director of Shalem Community Senior Living, says plants give residents something to nurture and care for. “Plants represent something living, they represent something to nurture, they represent something to take care of, and as we get older, those opportunities just diminish,” de Vuyst says. She says handing out the plants together can also help strengthen relationships inside the facility. “Residents are receiving them together also creates bonding for people to be talking about the plant that they received, maybe visiting each other’s plants, keeping each other accountable,” she says. Community Angie Carson, production manager with Tevagrow, says caring for plants can give people something to focus on and talk about. “It brings out a sense of community,” Carson says. “It gives people something to talk about, something to be excited about.” Woods says she hopes Growing Gratitude YYC can become a starting point for more connection. She would like to eventually create a Facebook group where seniors and volunteers can share photos of their plants and feel part of something larger. She says the group is looking for more plant donations, volunteers to deliver plants, people to write plant-care cards and help identifying seniors who could benefit. Woods says the group has collected almost 400 plants and has already delivered many of them, but more support is needed. “I would ultimately like to start a Facebook group where we can talk, and we can post pictures of our plants, and let everyone know they’re a part of something, and they’re not alone,” she says. Growing Gratitude YYC is still looking for volunteers to help raise, and distribute plants to seniors. The group can be reached through Facebook.
