What’s horticulture therapy? Ask Mr. O.

Some people look forward to Thursdays because it’s one day closer to the weekend. But for students in the Center Based Resource class at Olathe Northwest High School, Thursday means a chance to attend Mr. O’s class.

Mr. O is what these students call science teacher Tim Oberhelman.

He teaches Advanced Placement Environmental Science and Horticulture Science at Olathe Northwest. But each Thursday, he welcomes special education students into his classroom for his Hands on Horticulture class.

Oberhelman used to teach a seminar class during this time. Instead of presiding over a study-hall type class, he decided to take on a new challenge this year. So, he approached the head of the special education department about his idea.

“I’ve been talking about making seminar more meaningful for me,” Oberhelman said. “So I thought, let’s give horticulture therapy a try.”

For an hour and a half each week, Oberhelman seeks to both educate and interact with Olathe Northwest students with developmental disabilities. For the first 40 minutes of class, Oberhelman lectures to the class and shows a video on a horticulture topic. He then spends the rest of the class time leading hands-on learning.

On one Thursday in October, that meant painting pumpkins. The project went hand in hand with a recent lesson where students harvested pumpkins from the school’s garden.

“Look Mr. O, K-State,” one Center Based Resource student said as she enthusiastically showed him the pumpkin she had painted purple. It’s well known among the class that Oberhelman is a K-State fan.

Not only is it clear that the Center Based Resource students adore Oberhelman and his great sense of humor — you can tell by the hearty laughs they let out when he makes a joke —they also love interacting with the 25 horticulture students that help with the class.

That’s part of the goal for Oberhelman — for his science students to get to know the Center Based Resource students. And he said it’s working. Now when his science students walk down the hall at school they stop to talk to their new friends.

“The coolest part of the class is my science kids interacting with these kids,” Oberhelman said.

“It’s an hour and a half of connecting and feeling really good.

Senior Adam Coleman, who helps Oberhelman with his class, said he has enjoyed making friends with students in the Center Based Resource class.

“They don’t judge you or anything,” Coleman said. “They want to get to know you, have fun and interact with you.”

Tabitha Marriott is the Center Based Resource teacher at Olathe Northwest. She feels Oberhelman’s class is making a positive impact on her students.

“I think the class is amazing,” Marriott said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to interact with their peers and to get some great information.”

Oberhelman has a degree in horticulture science and spent several years working in the field before making the decision to become a teacher 23 years ago. He brings his love for growing things to his students. Inside the school’s greenhouse, students grow a variety of things including several types of lettuce that they can pick and use to make a salad.

Oberhelman’s science students have planted fruit trees, wheat and soybeans on the school grounds. Once harvested from the garden, he uses the different items in his hands-on experiments.

Earlier in the year, for example, Center Based Resource students made pickles from the cucumbers they grew and once the soybeans are ready, Oberhelman will teach his students how to make tofu.

Students in the Center Based Resource class said they love working with items from the garden.

“I like getting to go out to the garden and see what’s growing,” sophomore Avery Spears said.

“I liked it when we made pickles,” junior Meg Steel said.

Marriott said the class is just one more way that her Center Based Resource students are taking an active role in their school community. They recently opened a coffee shop at school called the Raven Roasterie. The café is open before school on Thursdays for staff and is designed to give students hands-on work experience.

And while Marriott’s students are learning valuable lessons by taking Oberhelman’s class, he said he’s learning something too.

“It gives me a better perspective on life,” Oberhelman said.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 11:30 AM with the headline "What’s horticulture therapy? Ask Mr. O.."