A milestone anniversary for Brentwood Recovery Home.
Brentwood marked 60 years in the community on Friday with the announcement of a significant donation that will be used to open a therapeutic horticultural landscape for people dealing with addiction.
Over $100,000 has been donated by a generous donor, St. Clair College and Windsor Rona+ stores.
The home's executive director Elizabeth Dulmage says the therapeutic landscape will be integrated into Brentwood programs and services as a way of augmenting treatment and promoting healing.
"We know that one of the things that can help in the treatment and recovery from addictions is horticulture, is being in the garden, is being in the dirt, is watching things grow as you nourish and care for them."
She says Brentwood programs have continued to evolve over the 60 years.
"We really have preserved the legacy of the program that Father Paul [Charbonneau] started 60 years ago, and have added things that we now have knowledge about that we know also help people in their recovery journey get healthy, experience their spirituality in a different way and this will very much be part of that."
The partnership with St. Clair College began more than a year ago when students from the Landscape Design and Horticulture program were tasked with creating designs promoting peace, tranquility and healing.
Student concepts were assessed by Brentwood clients, alumni and staff, with the best elements from each design compiled into a final concept.
A partnership was also formed with Windsor Rona+ stores as it committed to building greenhouses and raised garden beds for the home. The greenhouses and gardens were finished earlier this month.
Dulmage expects phase 1 of construction to begin next week.
"The first phase will be construction of a berm along Dougall Road, and some trees and plants planted that will create some privacy for our people on program, right? And not just the privacy piece of it, but the energy of it, of growing living things and taking care of them, that's part of it too."
The full Therapeutic Landscape project, constructed by Lake Shore Landscaping, is expected to be finished by summer of 2025.