GrowTH Community
Watch this overview video of the community platform!
Connection opportunities
You have a personal profile and can connect with other members of the community, as well as engage in chat forums that are regional or topic-specific. The community is international, currently with members from Canada, the US, Japan, Australia, Nigeria, Italy and the UK.
A sortable activity database
A robust database with four new activities added per month. The database is sortable in multiple ways such as domain of wellness, cognition level, material requirements and ability to deliver virtually.
Resource library
This extensive library includes resources such as intake forms, evaluation forms, sample budgets, recipes, trivia & visual cue templates.
20% discount on all courses
Enjoy a 20% discount on all courses including Intro to Therapeutic Horticulture, Nature at Work (coming Fall 2023), Intro to Therapeutic Horticulture with Children and Youth (coming Fall 2023), and Advancing Skills in Therapeutic Horticulture (coming Winter 2024).
Events
Regular guest speakers on relevant HT/ TH professional development topics. See the upcoming guest speaker list below, with many more planned for 2024!
Monthly calls
Feel isolated in this field? Join our one-hour virtual group calls with a registered horticultural therapist for connection, fun and Q & A.
Activity Database
Your membership includes a database of nature-rooted activities that is sortable in the following ways:
- Type – check-in, mindfulness, activity & check-out
- Material requirements – cost vs. no cost
- Domains of wellness affected – physical, cognitive, emotional, social, sensory & creative
- Season
- Indoor / Outdoor
- Physical exertion required
- Population / cognitive ability requirement
- Ability to deliver virtually
GrowTH Community
Annual Membership
$108
/yr
save 10% annually
Registration coming soon
What's Included
Online profile and network
A growing activity database
Resource library
20% discount on all courses
Free events
One-hour group call (monthly)
GrowTH Community
Monthly Membership
$10
/mo
Registration coming soon
What's Included
Online profile and network
A growing activity database
Resource library
20% discount on all courses
Free events
One-hour group call (monthly)
GrowTH Community
Monthly Membership
$10
/mo
Registration coming soon
What's Included
Online profile and network
A growing activity database
Resource library
20% discount on all courses
Free events
One-hour group call (monthly)
INCLUDES 7-DAY FREE TRIAL
Annual Membership-
7-day free trial
-
Online profile and network
-
A growing Activity Database
-
Resource Library
-
20% discount on all courses
-
Free events
-
One-hour group call (monthly)
Students & Volunteers:
50% off the first year of your annual membership
Click here for discount
INCLUDES 7-DAY FREE TRIAL
Monthly Membership-
7-day free trial
-
Online profile and network
-
A growing Activity Database
-
Resource Library
-
20% discount on all courses
-
Free events
-
One-hour group call (monthly)
The GrowTH Community is one of the most exciting things to expand the growth of horticulture as a therapeutic tool that I have seen in recent years. Professionals from many fields working together with volunteers will bring this valuable tool to many more people.
— Dr. Paula Diane Relf
Professor Emeritus
Virginia Tech University
FAQs
The community is a space for horticultural therapists, horticultural therapy practitioners, practitioners and allies of therapeutic horticulture, and other allied professionals delivering nature-rooted sessions. It is also a space for graduates of the Intro to Therapeutic Horticulture course.
Yes! The intention of this community is to provide you with practical tools that you can put to use in your own practice without crediting of any kind. However, it should be noted that the information contained in the resource library is provided for general information purposes only. Please review the disclaimer in the library prior to using any of its contents.
Yes – you can ‘connect’ with members in the directory. If they accept your connection, you can send private messages to each other. We want to facilitate connections between people and provide a space to openly share ideas, resources, experiences and successes.
Absolutely! There is a form set up on the relevant pages of the community to collect submissions from members. Here is the Activity Idea Submission Form and resources can be emailed to courses@rootinnature.ca. The more members who engage and share, the more robust the community will become over time. You are part of helping our community grow!
The start-up infrastructure and ongoing management costs of the community and Activity Database are considerable. Root in Nature team members, registered horticultural therapists, review and vet the activities in the database and the resources, as well as manage the monthly check-in calls and other events. We want the community to be affordable for all and to provide far more value than the cost.
We were hoping to have a Canadian price and an US price. However, our software (MemberPress) is only able to process one currency. Since this is an international community, and the US dollar is widely recognized worldwide, we chose that currency and set the price at the US dollar equivalent of our intended Canadian price.
The time that seems to work best for most active areas in the community is 7 PM EST on weeknights.
Tour of the Resource Library
Tour of the Activity Database
Featured guest speakers
Teresia Hazen, MEd, HTR, QMHP
Consultant, Legacy Health
Kristin Topping
Owner, Sweetlife Flora
Dr. Paula Diane Relf
Award-winning Horticultural Therapy pioneer
Upcoming Events
first Thursday of EVERY month - recurring - 7pm EST | ONLINE
Garden-side Chat with Katie McGillivray, HTR
GrowTH Community members can participate in monthly one-hour check-in and Q&A calls with a registered horticultural therapist. These calls provide a supportive environment where therapists can seek guidance, share experiences, and engage in ongoing professional development. Your regular facilitator Katie (she/her) is a Registered Horticultural Therapist (HTR) and a member of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association.
Katie completed her horticultural therapy certificate with Ann Kent and was proud to “build her own degree” in therapeutic horticulture, completing a minor in counselling and majoring in general studies, focusing on courses in horticulture, agriculture, psychology and research. Katie is passionate about increasing access to therapeutic horticulture in communities and facilitates regular in-person and virtual sessions. Her approach is collaborative, client-centred and strengths-based.
Katie is also a major foodie and her work in therapeutic horticulture often intersects with community food security and food justice work. When not in the garden, Katie loves cooking, entertaining and paddle boarding.
November 9, 2023 | 7PM EST | ONLINE
Programming Year-round and Growing a Culture of Good Health with Teresia M. Hazen, MEd, HTR, QMHP
In this presentation participants will:
1. Outline benefits of gardens in the dimensions of wellness for residents.
2. Describe the resident assessment process and age-related care in senior living
communities.
3. Outline elements of thematic planning and writing of session plans year-round.
4. Explain the sequence in conducting a therapeutic horticulture session.
5. List the therapeutic garden characteristics.
Teresia Hazen, MEd, HTR, QMHP is Coordinator of Therapeutic Gardens for Legacy Health (www.legacyhealth.org/gardens). A registered horticultural therapist, she calls upon an extensive, broad-based background to facilitate interdisciplinary garden design teams and to develop therapeutic programs for patients, visitors and employees since 1991. She teaches and consults regarding gardens in healthcare, horticultural therapy for a wide variety of populations, health benefits of gardening and nearby nature, therapeutic garden design and the participatory design process.
September 21, 2023 | 7PM EST | ONLINE
Advanced Indoor Plant Care with Kristin Topping of @sweetlifeflora
Kristin will share how she was able to integrate care for plants into her own rehabilitation and self-care routine. Her experience as an environmental engineer helped her think about indoor plants more from a scientific perspective, which opened her eyes to simple tricks, tips and myth busting that can enable others to become better indoor gardeners.
This event is free for members. Non-members can purchase a ticket for $10 by clicking here.
Kristin Topping is a twenty-two-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. Her first book, Propagated from the Ashes, chronicled her recovery from a significant brain injury that shifted her life’s direction, focus and purpose. Her interest and training in Horticulture Therapy began with her own journey to recovery and she hopes to extend this practice to others. She is the owner of Sweetlife Flora, a rare and exotic plant shop.
Kristin is known as @sweetlifefora on Instagram, Threads and TikTok and has rapidly cultivated a loyal following of plant enthusiasts and plant owners who want to learn about Mindful Horticulture and how to be incredible plant parents. She shares daily tips and best practices to audiences across the world.
Registration is now open!
Best Ottawa Business (BOBS) Award Winner
Coralus Venture
Root in Nature is grateful to be selected as one of the Ventures working on the World’s To-Do List by Coralus Activators! We will be receiving support from radically generous Activators, including funding, connections and relationships to grow our impact.