Benefits to Residents
Cultivating Hope
Time spent in nature improves physical and mental health and enhances our well-being and quality of life. Meet some of the people who call Actionmarguerite St. Boniface home and hear why spending time in nature is so important to each of them.
I come outside as often as I can to get some fresh air. Sometimes people bring their pets to visit. I really like to feed the squirrels. They recognize our chairs and they come looking for peanuts, running along the brick edge. When I put the peanuts down they’ll grab one in their little paws. If they get used to you, they come closer. And, sometimes, if I don’t have nuts with me, I’ll get lots of bad looks. It’s so important to me that the uneven sidewalks get fixed so that everyone can get all the way around the courtyard. When you are in a manual chair, every inch makes a difference.
I’ve been living here for seven years. Before that, I worked as a handyman and had my own house. I removed a concrete parking pad in my yard and created a garden for tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots, peas and beans and a bed for herbs. I like to cook and I taught myself. I enjoy preparing my signature sweet potato dish, pestos, or fresh-caught fish over an open fire. I loved getting right down into the dirt, on my hands and knees, pulling the weeds. I made my own compost and it was so relaxing to rake the grass to add to the compost. Being in a garden makes you feel a lot better mentally and physically. You can breathe in the oxygen. After the pandemic, the first time I could go outside, I thought “I’m free, I’m free!”
Morning is one of my favourite times of day, when I wake up and see the sun shining into my room. I put the radio on and look out my window at the world outside. As a child, I had braces and couldn’t walk for recreation, but I loved the city parks with their walkways, flowers and trees. We all need parks and open spaces. When I first came here five years ago, there was a big central shelter in the courtyard and we would have little get togethers—a cocktail party or trivia, music. We’d pretend we were in the tropics. Summers are so short. We need to get out and do the things that we can—whether it’s to sit out and hear the birds sing or enjoy the quiet, have something to eat, play bocchi, or relax and rest our heads.
I’m 97 years old and I used to work as a brakeman, conductor and safety manager for the Canadian Pacific. I have a carpenter’s trade but never made a living at it. Since before I retired, I have built bird houses as a hobby. I worked in schools with kids to build over 3,000 of them and I’ve continued to make them here. They are all a bit different. I’ve always watched birds and where they build their nests. With ingenuity you can put up a shelf, and a robin will nest there. My houses are mostly for wrens and chickadees, with their beautiful song, and the odd woodpecker. In our courtyard, we only need one or two, spaced apart, careful of mice and crows. And we could add a nice birdbath.
For those of us who live here, we can’t go on vacations like other people do. It’s hard not to feel left out. I have gone to the Leaf Gardens here in Winnipeg, and it feels like being in a totally different city, another world. They have every type of plant and so many beautiful things to see and experience. With an upgrade, our courtyard could be more like that for us. I’d love to see some fancy plants, seating areas and a waterfall that I can safely enjoy from my battery-powered chair. My twin has her own garden and I would like to be able to grow carrots, beans, peas or cucumbers like anyone else. I would love to grow some beautiful begonias or some strawberries I could pick and pop into my mouth.
I like gardens with tomatoes, cucumbers and some herbs. In my early days of gardening I made a few mistakes, pulling up some healthy plants, thinking they were weeds. But I have learned a lot over the years. I think we should grow radishes here. They are so easy and fast to grow. We have some small bunnies running around, and they might eat the carrots, but that’s OK. I like the hanging feeders with nectar for the hummingbirds. There are also so many butterflies. A beautiful orange monarch once landed on my elbow and was there for two minutes. I was so surprised!
“We love this courtyard and we are happy to volunteer our time in the gardens. We want to see it thrive, partly in tribute to our late dad, Phillipe Lambert, and the many other family members who have called this place home over the past 20 years. This courtyard was everything to our Dad. I think it took him back to our cabin at Lac du Bonnet, where he was always puttering and checking things out, feeding birds, or transplanting trees. Dad loved family, enjoyed nature and believed in a job well done—especially in service to others. He was a man of few words. He would sit in the quietness and take it all in. Over time, we started to coax the chickadees in the nearby birdhouse with some birdseed. Eventually, they came right to us—landing on his hat and even eating out of his hand. He grinned from ear to ear that day! When he passed away, we just wanted to make sure that others had the opportunity he had to enjoy beauty in the outdoors. We volunteer a few times a week and love getting tips and requests from those who live here. Dad raised us to do this. If he were here today, he would look around to make sure we did a good job and he would say “C’est beau, ça.”
Every day I come to work to make a difference. For those who live here, I want their day to be fulfilling—often at a time in their lives when, perhaps, they don’t have the ability to hold a memory from one day to the next. When they go outside, there is something different every time. It is a destination that is new. They have been somewhere. There is a story to tell. Their world expands for a time. They recharge their batteries. You are not only giving them some joy and connection, but provide the opportunity to have new experiences and stories they can share with others.
The courtyard—and the outdoors—are so therapeutic. Being outside is a game changer. As soon as the patio doors open, the energy and atmosphere changes. The whole community starts to spread the word. Those who love the outdoors encourage the others to join them. Some sit with their faces upwards and their hands out, finding peace and reassurance in the sun and the fresh air. Anxieties melt away. Groups form. Some sit and compare their sunhats or talk together. Maybe they play some tether ball or just watch. There is a sense of freedom and belonging. This is their home and their backyard.