Grace Gardens

Grace Gardens, Nurturing All Abilities in Nature

What: Grace Gardens, a non-profit organization featuring an Inclusive and Accessible Gardening Space … Our Mission is to cultivate a welcoming inclusive gardening space for gardeners of all abilities to grow and thrive. Gardening offers a sense of accomplishment and personal growth and should be enjoyed by everyone. Adaptations and accommodations such as wide pathways, adaptable tools, raised beds, elevated tables, hanging baskets, vertical gardens, and containers will help reduce barriers and support the special needs of children and adults with disabilities. These modifications are implemented to improve and enhance engagement and success, so all can participate to the level of their abilities.

Why: Inspiration for Grace Gardens comes from the fact that activities for individuals with special needs are lacking in our community. An accessible and sheltered environment for gardening can be the perfect place to learn and practice not only gardening skills, but many daily life skills as well, such as caring for a living thing, following instructions, problem solving, and goal setting.

Gardening is therapeutic! Research tells us that working in a garden offers many health benefits such as increased energy, strength, and endurance, improved self-esteem and builds confidence, enhances mental focus, fosters a calming effect, improves communication skills, and provides opportunities to make friends and build relationships to enhance quality of life, just to name a few!

Where: Grace Gardens will be situated in the city of San Angelo in a gated, secured garden setting, to be designed and constructed with inclusivity and accessibility in mind. Adaptations and accommodations such as wide pathways, adaptable tools, raised beds, elevated tables, hanging baskets, vertical gardens, and containers will help reduce barriers and support the special needs of children and adults with disabilities. These modifications are implemented to improve and enhance engagement and success, so all can participate to the level of their abilities.

How: Grace Gardens will have many opportunities for community involvement. Mentors, volunteers, businesses, organizations, schools, and your donations make this vision a reality.

Who: Martha Register, a lifelong resident of San Angelo, has worked in the San Angelo Public schools as a teacher since 1998 and a Master’s level Speech-Language Pathologist since 2013. Martha has taught and served many children and young adults with communication disorders as well as those without. She currently works with Kids Care Home Health as a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and is a member of the Concho Valley Master Gardeners.  Martha has a passion and a vision to see Grace Gardens blossom in our community. With your help, this vision can become a reality.