Sarnia students have brought a hands-on touch of healing to Bluewater Health by building custom outdoor furniture for patients living with dementia. On June 19, 2026, teens in Mr. Siebert’s Senior Woodworking class at Great Lakes Secondary School delivered three raised planter boxes and a set of cornhole boards they designed and built for the hospital’s Cognitively Complex Care Unit.
The project grew from hospital staff seeing how much patients benefited from an existing garden bed. According to the Lambton Kent District School Board, an existing raised garden bed had become a valuable part of patient life on the unit, encouraging movement, social interaction, reminiscence, and a sense of accomplishment through planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting vegetables. Staff wanted to expand that therapeutic outdoor programming, so they reached out to the school for help.
The students’ handiwork will turn the unit’s patio into a more welcoming space for the 24 individuals receiving care there. Paula Gilmore, Director of Rehabilitation Services, Stroke, Geriatrics and Rural Health at Bluewater Health, said the items will support recreation therapy that promotes “purpose, engagement, dignity, and connection” for patients and their families.
The donation was met with immediate enthusiasm. Kathy Alexander, Executive Director of the Bluewater Health Foundation, described the delivery as “kindness in action.” “There was excitement in the air when Bluewater Health received this very special delivery from GLSS. We are grateful to the students of Mr. Siebert’s Senior Woodworking class for designing and building the planters and surprising us with the cornhole boards,” she said.
For Gary Girardi, Chief Executive Officer of the Lambton Kent District School Board, the partnership shows what happens when schools and community groups work together. “At LKDSB, we believe these partnerships are the heartbeat of our schools,” he said.
