Rider opens new Sensory Garden for rest and relaxation

By Samantha Clark

Rider officially opened its new Sensory Garden on Sept. 29, giving students, faculty and staff a space to slow down and take a break from the demands of campus life.

Anissa Moody, the associate dean of student health and wellness, said, “[The garden is] a space where they can find calm, where they can find activities to engage the senses. … One of the things that has happened through this process is that I’ve learned that everybody needs that. We all do; staff, faculty and different levels of students.”

A collaboration between university leadership, the Student Government Association, the Counseling Center, Facilities, Auxiliary Services, Public Safety and community vendors, the Sensory Garden serves as a space designed to be experienced with more than just the eyes.

Offering stimulation for each of the five senses, the garden features areas for “creativity, movement, quiet, curiosity, connection — or simply a place to pause,” according to the official informational site.

Each section of the space provides a new way for visitors to reconnect with the present moment and feel grounded in nature, such as a Zen sand garden, stone-stacking area, arbor and sensory curtains, wind and wood chimes, grounding areas and gathering lawns for those looking to rest and reconnect.

The garden also contributes to the emphasis the university places on community throughout campus, as it serves as a place to relax, refresh and, above all, be together. 

“It reminds me why I came to Rider,” President John Loyack said. “When I was going through the interview process, even though we never really touched campus until the very end, I got to meet individual groups. You couldn’t help but feel the sense of community at Rider. To me, this is a great representation of a sense of community.”

Providing a physical space where that community can come together, the garden also serves as a quiet sanctuary for the Rider family, allowing it to be enjoyed both in groups and solitude. 

Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff for Student Experience Mary-Alice Ozechoski said, “This garden is a place to experience silence, to be with yourself and to reflect on your own personal experiences and journey. It is a place to quiet your mind in a world often filled with noise.”

Although the space was carried out by the 2026-27 SGA executive board, the project has been in the works since before senior human resources management major and SGA President Lizbeth Ortiz’s term, representing the hard work of students, staff and administration across multiple years.

However, the garden still falls under Ortiz’s goals of student representation in her candidacy, as the motto she follows states “one community, many stories.” 

“Belonging isn’t simply inviting everyone into the same space. It is thinking intentionally about whether the spaces we create actually allow different people to feel comfortable, supported and included once they get here,” Ortiz said.

By combining elements in nature and designated spots for both activity and rest, the garden offers different ways to experience the area.

After the official opening, the university is offering “seven days, seven days to pause,” inviting the community to spend the week immersed in the Sanctuary Garden, beginning on Sept. 30.

“I hope for the students sake, any time you have something you want to celebrate, you want to cry, you want to do something that just needs feeling, I highly recommend you come out here and use this beautiful space,” Provost and Vice President of Student Affairs Kelly Bidle said.

Ortiz continued, saying, “The small wins matter. The moments when you did something that you didn’t think you could, they mattered. I hope that this is part of what the garden gives our community; a place to pause long enough to recognize those moments.”