ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: OLDER GARDENERS AS KEEPERS OF THE EARTH: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY Carole Staley Collins, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Dissertation directed by: Professor Francine H. Hultgren Department of Education Policy and Leadership This study explores what the lived experience of gardening is like for older, community-dwelling gardeners as it is uncovered through conversations, garden visits, and written notes from seven older gardeners. Over a two-year sequence, multiple in- depth individual conversations at the homes of the co-researcher participants unearth themes reflective of their gardening lives. Drawn forward by the methodology of hermeneutic phenomenology, the rich text of our dialogue mingles like compost and becomes something newly created that shows their passion for interacting with plants and living habitats. Using the existentials of lived place, lived body, lived time and lived relation we dig into how gardening is lived. Home and volunteer places for gardening keep these older adults curious and creatively engaged–characteristics of healthy agers. Their worn body parts go unnoticed in the presence of beauty they co-create, suggesting knowing the Earth through the senses is a source of tranquility and wakefulness that brings a renewed appreciation for the wonder of nearby nature. With interpretive literature, poetry, and cultural understandings of the gardeners’ lives, we relate to metaphors surrounding gardening; the seasons and the circle of life are ever-present. Autobiographical stories of sustained volunteerism, land trusts, and conservancies for future generations reveal their caring for the planet and spiritual aspects of this physical activity, which they love. Reaching out beyond their gardens to share their bounty and wisdom about their relationship with living earth, the gardeners model a vision of respect for the planet and an ecological consciousness. Witnessing nearby nature, they blossom in the Fall of their lives. As a community health professional, my task is to educate and raise awareness about nature for human health and well-being; thereby building on current initiatives to foster accessible nearby nature. The study also sheds light on the value of environmental activism through autobiographical notions. In supporting a gardening life for older gardeners, we advocate the importance of interacting with nearby nature that we long to preserve. Our planet needs more earth keepers like these to bring us back into balance. OLDER GARDENERS AS KEEPERS OF THE EARTH: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY by Carole Staley Collins Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 Advisory Committee: Professor Francine Hultgren, Chair and Advisor Professor Charles Flatter Professor Diane Heliker Dr. Kathryn Kavanagh Associate Professor Jing Lin ©Copyright by Carole Staley Collins 2007 DEDICATION I dedicate this work of more than a few years to all my family, especially the ones who will enjoy homemade pot pies again in our Collins/Ramm household. Life happened along with the dissertation, often unpredictable but unforgettable, too. Because I love my family I slowed the pace: to be a temporary single parent while Paul served a long year in the Middle East; to be with my father, James Foster Collins, and learn from my mother, Cornelia Deming Collins’s example; to celebrate two scholars’ high school graduations (my niece, Amanda and my daughter, Ellie) with a trip of a lifetime with my sister, Lauren; to witness my son Nelson’s spring and summer adventures in sailing and lacrosse; and to gather at Wolfe Island with friends and my extended family to remember and enjoy building a family sense of place that my grandparents began. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the proposal defense I began to build a living wreath, representative of the elements of the path ahead. Happily, the research now brings me further into a life of service and community. The doors have been opened to teaching as learning and a message of the significance of gardening and nearby nature has been brought into the lives of older adults and our communities. Those of you who support my work have my sincere, heartfelt thanks. I thank my parents for being wonderful teachers. Their love and support endures through all seasons. Like the committee members and Dr. Francine Hultgren who encouraged me in this research endeavor, my parents, friends and family comprise the wire frame that holds the living wreath I began for the proposal meeting. I thank my committee for who they are. My first volunteer committee member, Dr. Kathryn Kavanagh, continues to be a centering force, a compass pointing to interpretive research and hermeneutics. A true mentor, she is scholarship as lived. I also am grateful to have Dr. Diane Heliker, who holds open the promise of future collaboration with her expertise. She knows what this dimension of gardening as nearby nature can bring to human health and well-being. We speak the same. I appreciate Dr. Charles Flatter for new insights so others see the importance of the study. I also thank Dr. Jing Lin, who teaches me to broaden my thinking and see natural elements are energy. With her suggestions, I enter into foreign lands that enchant and delight the senses. The plants in the living wreath are varied and bring life to the research. These individuals are the soul of the wreath. They are my co-researchers, my conversants who open their hearts and share their lives in and out of the gardens they inhabit. Their stories are planted in me and are the reason the research was able to grow and flower. The bits and pieces of moss and composted dirt that sustain the plants and the entire wreath, for that matter, create an environment that feeds each person in it. First, I appreciate the rich fertilizer that is the Hermes Circle. Writing helps each of us thrive in our friendship and scholarship with colleagues at the Society for Phenomenology of the Human Sciences. We blossom and carry our work forward from Phenomenology classes with Dr. Francine Hultgren. I also wish to applaud the good-hearted souls who take nurturing to another level–the Wonderful Women Writers. We travel and present in symposia together, but the newness from compost seems to be our celebrations of big or small life events. I cannot thank them enough. They are Dr. Kathy Ogle, Cherry Karl, MaryAnn Hartshorn, Dr. Judith Kierstead, Dr. Debbie Goulden, Felicia D’Haiti, Pamela Harris, Dr. Barbara Schaefer, Dr. Janet Zimmer and Dr. Jan Carroll. My special thanks go to my neighbors who always made time for proofreading (Anne Thomas) or reference research (Terry Sayler). Gardeners both, they enliven my spirit in many ways in and out of the garden. I am grateful for enduring friends Dr. Meg Johantgen and Dr. Janice Hoffman, and phenomenological researchers and soul friends: Dr. Mary Packard, Dr. Stacey Irwin and Dr. Nancy Johnston. Our conversations during the writing remind me why the living wreath is worth the doing. I thank my loyal book club friends Dr. Angie iii Moran and Phyllis Parker who made my dissertation their extra book of the month. Thank you, Marie Lee, poet and gardener, for always being interested and sharing your gardening self and your poem. For editorial support and details, I thank Colleen Floyd, Anne Kierstead and Dr. Susan Newbold. In addition, I wish to acknowledge my brother- in-law, Dr. Charlie Mitchell, who read every word and my faithful garden club members who keep me grounded. I would like to thank the following individuals, agencies and publishers for permission to use their copyrighted materials: Rightsholder and poet Mr. John O’Donohue for two stanzas of his poem “Before the Beginning” in Conamara Blues published in 2001 by HarperCollins in New York. Henry Holt and Company, LLC for permission to cite Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” in The poetry of Robert Frost edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1923, 1969, by Henry Holt and Company. Copyright 1951 by Robert Frost. Ilan Shamir for his poem “Advice from a Tree” in Poet Tree: The wilderness I am published by Better World Press. Copyright 1999 by Ilan Shamir. Reprinted with his permission. Katharine Gregory for her poem “Invocation for Earth Day Tree Planting” in Poet Tree: The wilderness I am published by Better World Press. Copyright 1999 by Ilan Shamir. Reprinted with permission from the book author, Ilan Shamir and the poet, Katharine Gregory. Rightsholder McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (Books division) for permission to reprint excerpts from Henry Cuyler Bunner’s (1855-1896) poem “The Heart of the Tree” and Lucy Larcom’s (1826-1893) poem: “Plant a Tree” as compiled and cited by Roy J. Cook in 101 Famous poems with a prose supplement originally published in 1981. Rachel Kaplan, J. E. Ivancich, J. E., and De Young, R. (2007) for sending the website link to their report: Nearby nature in the city: Enhancing and preserving livability at DeepBlue: http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/48784 The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for excerpted content by John Gannon’s (2001). “Community gardens: Beyond gardening” from their newsletter The Wired Gardener retrieved November 1, 2005. WGBH public broadcasting in Boston, MA, for permission to cite from Jennifer L. Brower’s interview on the 2006 Frontline program Faith, spirituality and aging. San Diego Hospice for the use of Ruben A. Alviz’s quotation on the back cover of their 2003 newsletter Living with Loss. iv The Virgina Gazette for permission to cite from Joyce Huffman’s essay “Life lessons from the Garden” in the March 25, 2006 issue. The Washington Post for the excerpt from the following online articles: Juliet Eilperin (February 3, 2007) Humans faulted for global warning and Blaine Harden (September 4, 2006) Tree planting drive seeks to bring a new urban cool.