By B.C. Manion
It’s not exactly secluded, but the makers of this garden hope that visitors will find it to be a respite from the rush of daily life – a place to contemplate and relax.
The “Peaceful Reflections Garden – Native American Medicine Wheel” covers a square swath of ground in a courtyard a bit west of the new school of business building now under construction at Saint Leo University.
The garden features a series of stones laid out in a circular pattern. Strategically placed boulders provide seating in the garden, and wildflowers and stone benches help to convey a welcoming tone.
The garden was created by students and Veronika Ospina-Kammerer, an assistant professor of social work, as an outgrowth of a diversity class at the university.
It pays tribute to the Native American culture and it seeks to be a place that inspires love, respect and gratitude for nature, Ospina-Kammerer said.
“Diversity is all about different cultures,” Ospina-Kammerer said. Learning about different cultures is important for social workers whom encounter people from diverse backgrounds in their line of work.
In researching various cultures, Ospina-Kammerer learned that the most impoverished group of people in the United States are Native Americans. She also learned that the life expectancy for female Native Americans is 52. It is just 48 for males.
“That was shocking to me,” Ospina-Kammerer said. “That is unacceptable.”
In an attempt to help raise awareness about the Native American culture, Ospina-Kammerer wrote a grant proposal for a garden with a Native American theme.
She envisioned working with students to create the garden and using the garden as an outdoor classroom to help enhance lessons about the culture of Native Americans.
University officials saw the merit of the project and approved the funding for the $6,000 project.
Social work students Heather Castle and Adrianne Vyasulu drew a design for the garden. Both women recently graduated from the university with their bachelor’s in social work.
The university’s operations department cleared the scrubby plot and laid down a limestone bed, Castle said.
Next, a truck dumped a pile of gravel, which was then shoveled by social work students into the garden space, where they smoothed it out. The students also placed stones in a circular pattern.
University crews used bobcats to place the huge boulders into their pre-ordained spots.
The circle is symbolic of the never-ending cycle of life, Ospina-Kammerer said.
“In the Native American culture, the medicine wheel has a sacred meaning. The Native Americans use spirituality in their healing.”
They also use the medicine wheel in their traditions and ceremonies, she said.
The garden is for the use and enjoyment not only by students, but by the public as well, Castle and Ospina-Kammerer said.
“This was made by students for students and the community,” Ospina-Kammerer said.
“We’d like people to come out here to visit it,” Castle said.