After being closed for almost five years, Artful Gardens Autistic and Special Needs Learning Farms, Inc, had a soft launch earlier this month, reopening as a place to go — and learn — for an underserved community of kids.
Artful Gardens began as a special needs playground in Buckingham in 2014 by founder and operator Mark Tracy because his nephew, who is on the spectrum, needed a place to be safe while playing and learning.
Tracy is an entrepreneur who built the playground as well as gardens, garden boxes and a saw mill as a place for children to learn life and social skills, Executive Director Jamin Ferris said.
“He had over 40 schools and over 1,000 kids out there in one year,” he said.
There had been nothing of its kind previously and it quickly became the place for children with special needs and their families to go.
Unfortunately, Artful Gardens was shut down after Tracy put $2 million into the project out of his own pocket to get the 31 acres up and running as a haven for children with special needs.
“Our goal for 2021 is to revive it and bring back all those feelings, camaraderie and the community they had before it was shut down,” Ferris said of Artful Gardens, which has changed its name to Artful Gardens Autistic Special Needs Learning Farms, Inc.
Ferris said Tracy, who really has a unique perspective and loves the children, needed a group of people to gather around him to get Artful Gardens going again. As the executive director, he is so leading the group of entrepreneurs and like-minded people who want to help see education reform.
They also are working with the Hive Community Development Cooperation, which is helping them get off the ground, as they have the same initiatives of bringing the community together.
The idea is instead of watching your kids grow up –because that is what will happen — to bridge the gap by helping kids progress and grow into a job and have a purpose, Ferris said, adding they want to focus on changing how one thinks, as that is always a work in progress.
“It’s a group of people doing it together this time instead of one man and everything having to fall on his shoulders,” Ferris said. “We are trying to build it into a community, our real goal.”
They are focusing on environmental science, with such topics as how things affect you through food, nutrition, plants, soil regeneration and the environment. They will talk about acting, breathing, moving and what energy the body needs and how it is repurposed back into the earth, Ferris said.
“It’s a better perspective on totality of how to focus on health,” he said.
When working on the mind and getting that on track, there is a sense of balance.
“They are trying to find balance in their life and a sense of deep purpose,” Ferris said. “They have more challenges than we do. Our job is to help lead the way and get them to progress.”
Art, the heart of it all, also is included at the farm as is painting, drawing and music therapy. Ferris said music therapy is helping Alzheimer’s and other brain-related issues and they will provide the therapy for children who have some challenges.
“We can start showing impact reports and what we are doing to help grow them to the next level,” he said.
Currently, children come out to the farm on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon. As Artful Gardens obtains more volunteers they will expand the hours and days.
“We had about 100 people show up to our first dinner event. We really set the vision and action plan,” Ferris said. “We are receiving about one to two contacts a day that want to volunteer or have autistic children. The momentum is there and we have built traction. We haven’t spent a single dollar. That shows the strength of the community where they can get behind the vision to help the children in need.”
Director of Resources Jordan Harrison said they want all kids to come to Artful Garden to learn different skill sets to help make them more employable.
The farm offers a hands-on approach for the kids, as they have box gardens, some animals and outdoor classrooms. The hope is to also to get greenhouses up and running soon.
“Kids with autism and special needs, they need to have the opportunity to go out there and get dirt between their fingers and seed in the ground. Doing those kinds of skills, hand-eye coordination, they feel empowered,” Harrison said.
Harrison said they also want to help underserved areas like North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres by helping residents with nutrition by teaching them how to plant and grow different vegetables by themselves.
Harrison said they want to also help the small micro business enterprises get off the ground. He said they had one gentleman donate hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment, such as a coffee roaster, food truck and ovens.
The equipment will help them teach kids how to roast coffee and cook, since they have kitchen access on the farm, Harrison said.
It also will teach and show the kids different concepts, as well as different career options.
“It’s a skill set they can learn,” Harrison said.
Those who would like to learn more about the farm, or how to get involved can reach out to Harrison at (317) 590-9081. He said he would be more than happy to figure out a time where they could meet at the farm and see firsthand what is happening.
“Every time I take people out there they say this is not what I was expecting at all,” Harrison said, adding that everyone has to see it to get a better idea of what they can help with.
Ferris said Artful Gardens is a rarity among targeted facilities and programs.
“There are a lot of government and county services offered, but no location for these children to have a place to go to. They have a chance to progress,” he said. “They work hard and have more of a positive attitude and grateful heart to have someone thinking about them.”
The 31-acre farm is at 5500 Higginbotham Road, Fort Myers.
Artful Gardens Autistic and Special Needs Learning Farms, Inc. can be found on Facebook or https://artfulgardens.org/.