Serene Oasis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kwun Tong District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong
| Serene Oasis | |
|---|---|
| 心靈綠洲 | |
 Logo | |
| Location | 2A Kwun Tong Road Kwun Tong District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong |
| Created | 2010 |
| Owned by | Christian Family Service Centre |
| Status | Open |
| Public transit access | Choi Hung station |
| Website | oasis |
Serene Oasis (traditional Chinese: 心靈綠洲; simplified Chinese: 心灵绿洲) is a garden on Kwun Tong Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Launched in 2010 for a two-year trial period for horticulture therapy, Serene Oasis opened more broadly to the public in 2013. It is the first and largest garden in Hong Kong used for horticulture therapy. Its major goal is to improve the condition of people suffering from mental illnesses such as dementia and depression. The garden has more than 100 species of plants.
The Christian Family Service Centre started an initiative in 2010 to allow community members to perform urban farming in an accessible space.[1] For the purpose of urban farming, the centre rented an urban open space owned by the government at Choi Hung Interchange near Choi Hung Estate.[2][3] The rented land had not been used for over a decade.[4] A condition of the centre's use of the land is that it cannot construct buildings on it.[5] The first phase of the initiative was Serene Oasis, a garden that launched in 2010.[1][6] It is Hong Kong's first and largest horticultural therapy garden.[7] For two years, Serene Oasis put on a trial programme of horticultural therapy before being opened more broadly to the public in 2013.[8] The second phase of the project was Urban Oasis, which is 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2).[1][2] Urban Oasis has 350 tiny gardens that people can rent to do farming.[4] Located at Kwun Tong Road, Serene Oasis is roughly 7,000 square feet (650 m2) and is a small section of Urban Oasis that is used for horticultural therapy.[5][7]
The centre published a book in 2014 titled Practice Manual of Horticultural Therapy (Chinese: 園藝治療實務工作手冊).[6] Authored by Lo Di (Chinese: 羅廸), a horticultural therapy assistant and program development manager at the centre, the book draws on scholars' theories about horticultural therapy and the centre's experience with the therapy at Serene Oasis.[6][9] The book's intended audience is horticultural therapy volunteers and workers so that they become familiar with the therapy and can better prepare treatment activities.[6]
