Where Healing Grows

How a School Garden and Student Mural Help a Community Process Loss and Find Hope

Humans have accessed healing in nature since time immemorial. The web of life that is revealed in the forest, at the seaside, or in a garden helps us center, process grief, and move forward. The healing garden at the Red Hook High School was created for that very purpose. Initiated in 2001 by the Red Hook chapter of Students against Drunk Driving (SADD) and their parents, its purpose was to support students (as well as teachers and staff) who were grieving the passing of a student in an accident. Another tragic loss in 2004 kept fundraising efforts for the garden alive and then, in 2008, the community was once again shattered by an untimely and devastating loss. That is when I got involved, volunteering along with students, including my own daughter, to breathe new life into the garden. Over the years, this garden has been an important touchpoint for me. It kept me connected to the school and garden and has been a wonderful chance to spend time with some of the alums who worked on the garden as students and join me annually to prepare and close out each season.

“I loved planting the bulbs and painting the birdhouse for a garden that makes people smile”- student

This year, I was delighted to be invited back by the school to work with special education teacher Ms. Fiore and her Flex class of 11 students. We worked side-by-side to ensure the garden remained a welcoming spot for students and community members to spend time. We planted new bulbs, and the students painted birdhouses and planters for inclusion in the garden. Benches, Tibetan prayer flags, and myriad plantings make the tranquil outdoor space calm and inviting. The space continues to be a place of tranquility where anyone can decompress, release stress, and connect with each other and nature.

I was able to secure arts and education funding with the Red Hook Central School District and Dutchess County BOCES Arts Education/Exploratory Enrichment. The funding allowed me to hire Ramiro Davaro-Comas, a nationally renowned muralist who lives in Kinderhook, NY, and purchase all the supplies needed for this large project. We launched the mural work early in 2025 as winter weather kept us out of the garden. By spring, we were ready to unveil and install the beautiful work.

Ramiro and I worked with 70 creative and deeply engaged 9th graders over a four-day period, designing and painting imagery of flora and fauna. We began by having conversations about connection, community, and inclusion as well as learning about the healing garden and plants. Incorporating my training in social-emotional learning (SEL) and trauma-informed educational modalities, I found that painting the three-panel, moveable mural helped all of us feel more connected. New friendships were made and students expressed how much they enjoyed the whole artistic process. The students felt great pride in creating a public work of art that is visible to their school community every day. The art teachers, Julie Shultis and Kristin Larson were integrally a part of the project by offering use of their art classrooms and as collaborators in the project creative orchestration. The administrators were supportive of the program and joyfully came in to paint alongside the students.

“We got to stand up and move around while talking with our friends”- student

“Making something for the school that everyone will see makes me feel proud and happy”- student

“I felt calm and I loved working alongside my friends”- student

This entire garden and mural project for healing is supported by research. The American Psychological Association reports that spending time surrounded by plants, flowers, and trees has proven benefits to cognition, mood, and emotional well-being. Doing so literally amplifies happiness. If you are grieving, the mood elevation that takes place when you sit peacefully in a garden is a way to find emotional balance while doing the work of processing your sad feelings.

Artist/Art Educator Ali Roland and Muralist Ramiro Davaro-Comas stand with the three panel mural before it’s installation outdoors.

Creating art, such as a mural, also has documented effects on mental health and overall wellbeing. The final mural created by students is full of flowers, birds, and butterflies. There is even a red fox peering benevolently from the painting as if making sure you are feeling okay.

Over the years, I’ve cherished opportunities to partner with my local schools in Red Hook to run art workshops with students and collaborate with them in the garden. As Coretta Scott King famously said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”