Tranquility Blooms: Port Perry Hospital’s New Healing Garden

Staff, volunteers, and community partners came together to celebrate the official opening of the Port Perry Healing Garden! The special outdoor garden at the Port Perry Hospital is a healing space for patients, their loved ones, and Lakeridge Health team members.

The garden is a testament to the power of collective compassion and generosity. Through a collaborative effort involving numerous community members, the Port Perry Healing Garden blossomed with the generous support of the Port Perry Hospital Auxiliary, RBC, Elexicon, and the broader community of donors through the Port Perry Hospital Foundation.

Step into the garden, and you'll discover more than just lush greenery. Featuring ample accessible seating for families to gather and space for solitary reflection, the garden is designed to cultivate a nurturing ambiance that promotes mental wellness.

Something else that makes this garden truly special is that prior to the grand opening, Elder Kim Wheatley officiated a beautiful planting ceremony of sacred medicinal plants of white sage, sweet grass, and ceremonial tobacco that joined the cedar tree already in the ground. These sacred Indigenous medicines, graciously shared by the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation, came from the Ajax Pickering Indigenous Community Healing Garden. They provide a cultural connection for Indigenous patients, staff and families, and all visitors wishing to connect to Indigenous cultural traditions and teachings.

The Port Perry Healing Garden stands as a beacon of inclusivity and equity, aligning with Lakeridge Health’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism (IDEAA) Multi-Year Action Plan.

Thank you to those who made the Healing Garden come to life! The grand opening was the perfect way to close out Spirit Week at the Port Perry Hospital.