An attendee paints a pot Thursday during the Growing Hope edition of Hope Nights at the Butler Art Center on Main Street. People in the recovery community learned the mental and physical benefits of gardening and made windowsill greenhouses to grow their own lettuce and parsley. Joseph Ressler/Butler Eagle

JOSEPH RESSLER

That boost in serotonin the brain generates when stimulated by opiates or alcohol also occurs when interacting with plants and soil.

On Thursday, Sandy Curry, director of Community Action Partnership in Butler, led a potted plant workshop at the Butler Art Center, 344 S. Main St. Her goal was to demonstrate how anyone, but specifically the people in recovery, can find different methods to cope with troubles, including addiction.

“If you care for that plant, eventually it is going to get to the point where it is going to be large and beautiful,” Curry said. “It's a metaphor for what you can do if you start very small and make small changes in your life.”

The art center, in partnership with Butler County Community College, hosts Hope is Dope nights every few months. This Growing Hope edition was designed to provide people in recovery with a good environment to find hope for the future through education and activity.

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