Chandler Gardens

CHANDLER, AZ - The Chandler Senior Center on Thursday, celebrated its new garden – filled with desert plants, potted herbs and a community that is returning to lives that were closed to one another during the pandemic. The garden is a space for the seniors to gather as a community — something, three women say, they have not been able to do much of this past year. 

Schools, restaurants, and stores were some of the first businesses to shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the closing of the senior center impacted three women in Chandler more than anything else.

Carol Oakley, Lupe Helton and Betty Neil have their own table at the senior center. Perched in the back right corner of the community space, the table remained empty for much of 2020. When their regular meeting spot first closed in March of 2020, the trio was unable to have their weekly get-togethers. 

“We missed it so much,” said Oakley, 89. “We really did.”

Oakley said the trio had a hard time trying to meet up outside of the center. The women said they live far from each other and since some of them do not drive, the senior center was the place they met up.

The center closed due to COVID-19, which put older adults at risk across the globe.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “older adults and people with disabilities who are not fully vaccinated are at the “highest risk for severe illness from COVID-19.”  

The risk led to the extended shut down of thousands of senior centers across the country — including the Chandler center. 

Per Maricopa County’s COVID-19 data, just over 8,500 Maricopa County adults, aged 65 and older, have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 20,000 older adults have been hospitalized. 

Ariana Moreno, Recreation Leader at the Chandler Senior Center, said it was difficult to see the center closed for nearly 1 ½ years.

“It was really depressing,” Moreno said. So for us to be opening this (garden) is really amazing.”

The CDC released guidelines for “adult day services centers” on how to operate amid COVID-19 concerns — giving centers recommendations on how to safely reopen.

The Chandler Senior Center reopened in the summer of 2021. As it reopened, so did its activities. The center provides community outings, hot meals and game days for members. As seniors began to fill the center again, Moreno said she and other volunteers noticed the need for an updated outdoor space.

“The seniors really never came outside,” said Moreno. “The blinds were never open. No one would use it. But then we had the idea to bring the garden back to life.”

Senior Center volunteer and water conservation specialist Daniella Rodriguez said the outside area was empty. She said the center used to have a garden but that it eventually fell into neglect.

“I came out here one day, and this place was desolate,” said Rodriguez. “It had old plants, dead plants. It was just kind of abandoned.”

Rodriguez, a certified Master Gardener, said she and Moreno had a vision for the garden.

“We started cleaning it up since (the beginning of) last year,” Rodriguez said. “And slowly but surely, over time, they added all these new plants (and) we bought all this equipment. The idea is this will be a new space for the seniors to just be outside, instead of just the building because of COVID.”

Rodriguez, a volunteer with the senior center, said the garden will give the members a new view of traditional routines.

“They'll also do art classes outside or evening classes outside,” said Rodriguez. “So it's just to kind of get them out of the building, doing something different.”

As the new garden opens, volunteers and seniors are all celebrating having a space to meet. For Oakley, Helton and Neil, the garden represents another space for the trio to gather.

“The garden is just wonderful,” said Helton, 85.

The back table at the senior center is full of laughter, community, and connection. Oakley, Helton and Neil sit next to each other, exchanging jokes and comparing the plants they received at the garden opening.

“Now we’re back together,” Oakley said. “It’s so great. It’s so nice to be back with friends.”

Written for class at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. 2021.