Therapeutic Horticulture Foundations & Facilitation

Bring Therapeutic Horticulture into Your Practice

You may already see the value of plants, gardening, and nature in supporting health and well-being, but you may be wondering how to turn that interest into safe, intentional, and goal-aligned practice.

Therapeutic Horticulture Foundations & Facilitation is a self-paced online course for professionals who want a more complete starting point than an introductory overview. You’ll build the knowledge, facilitation skills, and practical horticultural confidence to begin designing and leading therapeutic horticulture activities within your existing role or setting.

This course is designed for allied health professionals, recreational therapists, activity professionals, educators, wellness professionals, and others who want to integrate therapeutic horticulture into their work with greater clarity and confidence.

Course Description

Therapeutic Horticulture Foundations & Facilitation provides a practical foundation for professionals who want to integrate therapeutic horticulture into health, education, community, recreation, or wellness settings.

Through eight self-paced lessons, you’ll explore the principles, evidence, ethics, and professional considerations that shape therapeutic horticulture practice. You’ll also learn how to assess participant needs, design supportive environments, select and adapt activities, apply basic horticultural skills, manage safety considerations, and facilitate structured sessions for individuals or groups.

By combining foundational knowledge with applied facilitation skills, this course helps you move from interest in therapeutic horticulture toward more confident, thoughtful, and participant-centred practice.

Course Fee & What's Included

Course Fee: CAD ^$495
Course Manual (optional): CAD ^$30

What You’ll Receive:

Eight video-based lessons with 80 focused topics and course resources
Guest speaker videos
Lifetime access to course content and materials
Certificate of completion and digital badge
Eligibility for continuing education credits
Bonus: Six months of free access to the GrowTH Network for non-members, our professional support platform with an activity database, resources, peer connection and ongoing learning opportunities. Current GrowTH Network members receive a 20% course discount through their membership.

Time Commitment

This includes 15 hours of video lessons, as well as quizzes and resource materials.

You will not be required to attend any live calls during this course – all content is pre-recorded and self-paced.

Continuing Education Credits

This continuing education session content is pre-approved by NCTRC for 900 min (1.5 CEUs)
Approved by the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association—CHTA for 0.3 points per 40 contact hours of instruction
Accepted by Master Gardener programs—meets the criteria for continuing education in many U.S. and Canadian programs

How it Works

After you purchase, simply sign in to your account at the top right corner of the website and you’ll find the course and manual (if purchased) under Courses → My Courses.

You’ll have lifetime access, so you can move through the lessons at your own pace and revisit them anytime.

Course Manual Details

The 179-page course manual is a comprehensive PDF that captures all the main points from the course in one place. It’s designed to:

Consolidate the key concepts so you can focus on learning instead of taking extensive notes
Serve as a lasting reference, like a textbook you can return to anytime
Support open-book quiz completion
Provide a quick refresher on foundational knowledge as you move into more advanced or practice-based training
Provide a glossary of 130+ TH Terms

While not required, many students find the manual to be a helpful resource they continue using well beyond the course.

Learn from Experienced Instructors

Emilee Weaver

With over 25 years in professional horticulture and 15 years dedicated to developing therapeutic horticulture and horticultural therapy programs, Emilee Weaver is a respected leader, educator, and practitioner in the field. She co-authored The Profession and Practice of Horticultural Therapy (2019), one of the first comprehensive textbooks in the discipline, and served as lead instructor and content developer for university-based therapeutic horticulture certificate programs in the U.S. Emilee’s work has spanned clinical, community, and educational settings, with a focus on the intersection of horticulture and mental health. Most recently, she has helped expand therapeutic horticulture internationally, partnering with Ukrainian and Armenian botanical gardens and clinicians supporting communities affected by war. Her lifelong love of plants began in the fern-filled forests of New Hampshire and was nurtured by her grandmother’s influence. When she’s not teaching or consulting, Emilee can be found tending her garden, chatting with her tortoises, keeping her cats out of mischief, and spending time with family and friends who continue to inspire her journey.

Katie McGillivray, HTR

Katie McGillivray is a Registered Horticultural Therapist (HTR) and member of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association. Since 2014, she has supported therapeutic horticulture projects and programs for a wide range of populations, guided by an asset-based, client-centered, and strengths-focused approach. Katie holds a certificate in horticultural therapy from Ann Kent and completed academic studies in counselling, horticulture, agriculture, psychology, and research. Her work often connects therapeutic horticulture with community food security and food justice, areas where she continues to inspire meaningful, hands-on engagement with nature. Beyond her professional practice, Katie is an enthusiastic home cook and avid paddleboarder who finds joy in cultivating both gardens and community.

Featured Guest Speakers

Chadwick Lewis

Owner & General Manager, Urban Fresh Produce

Lynn Leach, HTR

Horticultural Therapist & Landscape Designer, Bird’s Foot Design Studio

Matthew Johnson

Owner/Operator, Three Rabbit Farms

What Our Learners Are Saying

"I think that this training has been the best training in Therapeutic Horticulture that I have done. The course provides you with the necessary foundation to provide your clients with good quality Therapeutic Horticulture sessions. Even if you already have knowledge of horticulture therapy and are a practitioner, the training provides you with relevant information that could enhance your practice. I love the mindful moments because they allow me to take pauses and nurture myself. I found this training fantastic!"

"This course has been exceptional and provides a wide array of information related to the practice of HT. It provides a unique opportunity to learn about and engage with the HT modalities. The information is laid out clearly and provides opportunity for reflection and application of what you are learning."

“This is one of the most engaging and informative online courses I have ever done. Even if I was not previously interested in the subject, I would have still very much enjoyed every aspect. The format and organization of the material flows incredibly well, and the material is clear, concise, and not lost in unnecessary filler. I highly recommend it.”

"If you want an easily digestible AND quality understanding of the practice of therapeutic horticulture and horticultural therapy, this is the course! It was well organized, concise, easy to move through, and rich with information. The information is insightful and will help strengthen your skill sets in this field."

"I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this course. I liked that I could work at my own pace and complete sections without feeling like I was going to forget what I learned. The quizzes at the end of each lesson were helpful. One of my favourite things about this course was being able to go through actual session plans as well as having the additional resources/readings available. I found all of the course material easy to understand and very beneficial. I will be recommending this course to colleagues!"

"Clear, concise, with the ability to complete at your own pace, three of my favourite things in an online course! A great intro to TH/HT guided by experienced and knowledgeable instructors. Thank you for this course, I look forward to more of your offerings!"

"I loved the diversity of people included in the videos of this course. It has been my own experience that very little breaks down barriers between people quite as well as horticulture activities."

"Well planned course with excellent facilitation, great examples and resources such as videos, articles, documents and library."

Course Structure

What You'll Gain

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

Understand therapeutic horticulture principles and how they inform safe, intentional practice
Design and facilitate structured therapeutic horticulture activities for individuals or groups
Adapt tools, tasks, environments, and activities to support a range of participant needs to support diverse participant needs
Apply foundational horticultural skills through a therapeutic lens
Recognize and manage key physical, emotional, cognitive, environmental, and horticultural safety considerations
Identify how therapeutic horticulture can fit within your existing professional role or setting

FAQs

Are more courses offered on this topic if I want to continue my learning?

Yes. After completing Therapeutic Horticulture Foundations & Facilitation, you can continue your learning in two main ways.

1. Advanced Course: This course provides a strong foundation and can be used as a stepping stone into our advanced training. The Advanced Therapeutic Horticulture Skills course can lead to an Advanced Therapeuticc Horticulture Certificate.

2. Standalone professional development and mini-courses: You may also choose to continue through shorter, topic-focused learning opportunities. These include thematic courses such as Supporting Emotional Resilience and Action in a Changing Climate, along with additional mini-courses designed to deepen specific skills or explore focused practice areas.

For current offerings, waitlists, and upcoming launch dates, please visit our Courses Overview page, the Root Beat newsletter, and social channels.

Will I be qualified to practice therapeutic horticulture after taking this course?

Yes—with important context. Therapeutic Horticulture Foundations & Facilitation is designed to equip you to integrate therapeutic horticulture into your existing professional role. After completing the course, you can confidently design and facilitate therapeutic horticulture activities and sessions within appropriate settings, using plants and nature as intentional, goal-aligned therapeutic tools.

However, this course does not confer the professional title of Therapeutic Horticulture Practitioner. Graduates may describe themselves as a Therapeutic Horticulture Ally who hold specialized training in TH, reflecting their training in foundational TH principles, facilitation strategies, safety considerations, and inclusive practice across diverse populations and environments.

If your goal is to deepen your practice further we recommend continuing into the advanced course. This course builds on the Foundations & Facilitation curriculum and supports more complex program leadership and design roles.

Does this course certify me to become a horticultural therapist?

No, this course does not certify you as a Horticultural Therapist (HT).

This course provides training in therapeutic horticulture foundations and facilitation. Even the full Therapeutic Horticulture Certificate pathway is designed to prepare learners to practice therapeutic horticulture—not horticultural therapy.

Horticultural therapy is a distinct clinical profession with its own training pathways and requirements; this course focuses on therapeutic horticulture as an evidence-informed practice approach.

Is there group pricing?

Yes, we can provide discount codes for groups of three or more. Please contact courses@rootinnature.ca to discuss a custom code for your group size.

Download a Course Preview & Outline

Get a glimpse inside the course with this comprehensive preview video and detailed course outline. It brings together a series of clips from the lessons, giving you a feel for the learning style, topics covered, and the supportive approach that guides you through the foundations of TH.

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