Help Improve Our Healing Green Spaces

Spending time outdoors has been linked to many benefits for mental health and emotional well-being. Did you know Carilion has several green spaces on our hospital campuses where you can experience the healing power of nature?

In Roanoke, the Dr. Robert L.A. Keeley Healing Garden sits on the Roanoke River Greenway near CRMH. This garden, created in partnership with the City of Roanoke, provides a relaxing atmosphere for patients, visitors and staff to sit or swing and enjoy fragrant plants and the soothing sound of moving water. It has also served as the site for many of our events to support grief and healing, including the Burden Boat Ceremony—an interactive work of art designed to release burdens into nature—and the Forget-Me-Not Seed Planting Ceremony—which honors those who have experienced perinatal and infant loss.

We also have walkable labyrinths near the Riverside Center parking deck in Roanoke and at CNRV. Walking these meditative paths can help clear the mind, calm anxieties during periods of transition and stress, guide healing, deepen self-knowledge, improve creativity, restore feelings of connection and promote personal and spiritual growth.

Have you visited these healing green spaces or other gardens in your community? Tell us in the comments below how you use nature to relax and reflect! 

The Keeley Healing Garden is currently undergoing repairs due to frequent flooding. In the coming years, our Keeley Healing Arts Program will be working with the City of Roanoke to improve the garden and enhance sustainability. Share your feedback on the garden in this survey and help us continue to provide these peaceful spaces for our community.