The End of an Era, and the Beginning of Another!

As I’m nearing the end of my fieldwork placement, I’m here to share some reflections about my experience developing Larchwood Farm Nature Camp over the past 8 weeks.

This has been a fantastic placement that has taught me so much about how diverse the work of an occupational therapist can be! Not only do occupational therapists have an important role working directly with clients to support their participation and engagement in meaningful activities, but we can also use our occupational lens at a systems level to develop programs that are centered around the needs of our clients. One of the most meaningful aspects of my placement was truly getting to know the Grey County community through a community health needs analysis, which now allows me to confidently say that Larchwood Farm Nature Camp will address the health needs of children living in this community. Although I love working directly with clients, this placement made me realize the huge impact that occupational therapists can have when working away from direct client care, and I believe that this experience has opened doors for me in the future to consider leadership and advocacy work.

Another key takeaway for me from this placement is all that I have learned about the benefits of spending time in nature for kids. While I have always known that for me personally, nature is a huge stress-reliever, to see the extensive benefits of nature for the physical and mental health and well-being of children reflected in the literature was very eye-opening. I look forward to using nature-based therapy in my future practice, regardless of where I end up!

One of the biggest challenges I faced throughout this experience was the uncertainty of not knowing whether the camp would be able to pilot this summer 2020 because of COVID-19. This uncertainty made it difficult to plan for the future, especially when it came to figuring out how to market the program. Unfortunately, the camp will not be piloting this summer; however, we are very much looking forward to piloting the program in summer 2021, and to offering individual nature-based occupational therapy this summer 2020 on Larchwood Farm! Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

Although I’m signing off for now, this experience has been an absolute pleasure and I look forward to staying connected to Larchwood Farm Nature Camp for many years to come.

Cheers!

Regan Chau-Stacey, Student Occupational Therapist