Hi hortykim here with an update on this years Occupational Therapy workshops. I have decided to blog these sessions as well as wiki so Leigh has set up a new wiki page dedicated to the OT students and their activities in preparing for their public workshops.Thanks Leigh.
What is Occupational Therapy?The following definition from wikipedia seems to nutshell this interesting career choice well…
Occupational Therapy, often abbreviated as “OT”, incorporates meaningful and purposeful occupation to enable people with limitations or impairments to participate in everyday life. Occupational therapists work with individuals, families, groups and populations to facilitate health and well-being through engagement or re-engagement in occupation. Occupational therapists are becoming increasingly involved in addressing the impact of social and environmental factors that contribute to exclusion and occupational deprivation.
I have enjoyed facilitating the OT Workshops over the last few years and my wonderful assistants have included James and Helen who have a good knowledge of OT but this year Michelle Ritchie has joined the team and she brings a different yet equally valuable set of skills to the workshops,the following is an exerpt from her web page,
“Michelle has created Organic by Design to further her passion of helping people to grow their own organic food and reach a level of self-sufficiency from their own land. Michelle has been designing Organic Gardens since 2000. Michelle teaches the National Certificate in Practical Horticulture (Level 2) and the National Certificate in Organic Horticulture (Level 3).”
The first workshop for 2009 was on Feb 26 from 1-3pm and we started with introductions and cake which Michelle baked the night before! Zuchini Chocolate Cake.
Michelle then explained,” What Is Otago Polytechnic’s Living Campus?”
We then looked at cleaning seed which I had collected from my garden which included kowhai,native iris,grasses and kaka beak,making seed balls,sowing edible plants,looking at elements within the L block permaculture garden and brainstorming about “What is sustainability?” What are some things we can do to reduce our impact on the environment and have a productive home and working/learning space with minimum waste?
