For the culmination of her year-long research project, Simmons College student Erin Hickey conducted a qualitative analysis of the comments on our Change.org petition to preserve the Prouty Garden at BCH. We present her findings below. These were also presented last month at the Simmons College Undergraduate Research Symposium.

As you'll see, there are several key themes that frequently appear in the comments, including the garden as an "oasis," the garden's holistic healing qualities, the connection to nature the garden provides, the spiritual benefits, the sense of normalcy, benefits to staff, and so much more.

When viewed in this light, one gets a very real sense of how deeply rooted the Prouty Garden is in the fabric of daily life at Boston Children's Hospital. The administration has their polished "spin" on their proposed expansion project, which is still pending final approval by the Dept. of Public Health, but the analysis below amplifies the voice of the community - the real people who heal and have been healed at Children's, and in the Prouty Garden.

For a larger version of the analysis, please click here. Thank you Erin for your hard work in analyzing this data. We ask all of our supporters to please read and share this important work.