Upcoming Events

March 6, 2025 @ 12:30 pm
- 1:30 pm EST

March Peer Support Call

GrowTH Network members can participate in monthly drop-in Q&A and check-in calls with a registered horticultural therapist. These calls provide a supportive environment where practitioners can seek guidance, share experiences, and engage in ongoing professional development.

 

March 22, 2025 @ 1:00 pm
- 4:00 pm EDT

HT Week Mini-Conference: Growing Forward - HT Across Time and Borders

This HT Week Mini-Conference will explore and celebrate how therapeutic horticulture (TH) and horticultural therapy (HT) have transformed lives across time and borders. With a spotlight on the field’s rich history, impactful present, and innovative future, this event is your opportunity to gain insight into the global growth of TH and HT from leaders in the field.

Highlights:

  • Fireside Chat with Dr. Diane Relf: A reflection on the early pioneers of horticultural therapy and their lasting impact on the field.
  • Thought-provoking presentations by guest speakers Mattie Cryer and Emilee Weaver, leaders in therapeutic horticulture innovation.
  • Exclusive unveiling of Root in Nature’s new free and open-access Sortable Research Database, a powerful tool featuring hundreds of curated articles tagged by program type, population groups, settings, outcomes, and more.

Whether you’re an HT or TH professional, a student, or someone passionate about the healing power of nature, this event is your opportunity to:

  • Explore over four decades of Craig Hospital’s renowned HT program.
  • Take a virtual journey showcasing the life-changing impact of TH in war-torn regions, including Ukraine and Armenia.
  • Get an in-depth tour of Root in Nature’s new Sortable Research Database, designed to empower practitioners with evidence-based insights.
  • Gain wisdom from a trailblazer in HT during an intimate conversation with Dr. Diane Relf.

Why Attend? Gain inspiration, practical tools, and valuable connections to elevate your practice. Celebrate the power of nature-based healing while building connections with a global community of peers.

Let’s honour the past, embrace the present, and shape the future of HT and TH—together!

Cultivating Recovery: 42 Years of Horticultural Therapy at Craig Hospital

Craig Hospital’s horticultural therapy program has been developing into what it is today over the last 42 years. This longevity has allowed a layered program with vocational, wellness, and therapeutic elements to emerge, along with community-building, original research, and leadership in the horticultural therapy world.  Programming, adaptive tools, community partnerships, and therapeutic gardens make Craig’s horticultural therapy program unique and impactful. 

Speaker: Mattie Cryer, LCSW, CBIS

Mattie Cryer, LCSW, CBIS (she/her) is the bilingual horticultural therapist for Craig Hospital. After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Spanish from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Cryer taught English language and culture at a university in Argentina as a Fulbright Scholar. Upon returning, Cryer completed a Master’s Degree in Social Work with an emphasis on immigration reform and environmental justice. Graduation from this program fell in June of 2020 and amidst a global pandemic and lockdown, plants and gardening brought solace. 

After discovering how healing plants can be on a personal level, Cryer completed the Horticultural Therapy Certificate with the Horticultural Therapy Institute based in Denver, Colorado. While working on this certificate, Cryer started a free community-centered horticultural therapy stand at a local farmer’s market. Cryer has worked at Craig Hospital for one and a half years, finding joy in sharing the accessibility of gardening with patients and sharing the joy of responsible environmental stewardship and permaculture. With a background in social work and horticultural therapy on a community level, Cryer brings a diverse perspective to Craig’s program.

Conflict to Cultivation: Emilee’s Journey Advancing Therapeutic Horticulture in War-Torn Regions

Since 2022, Emilee Weaver, and her colleagues at the non-profit Partnerships for Nature have supported Ukraine’s efforts to develop the use of plant- and nature-based programming as healing interventions for those affected by the ongoing war with Russia. Through free virtual ‘train the trainers’ therapeutic horticulture (TH) trainings, scholarships for online TH certificates (in partnership with NC State Extension Gardener program), and consultations with botanical gardens in Ukraine and Armenia, Emilee has fostered transformative collaborations. 

In October 2024, she embarked on a 14-day trip to Armenia and the Poland/Ukraine border to meet, celebrate, and continue supporting the future leaders of TH in these countries. Join us for a virtual tour of this journey, showcasing the first sensory healing garden in Poland, two therapeutic gardens in Armenia, and how Ukraine’s botanical gardens have remained a source of resilience, cultural pride, and hope amid profound adversity.

Speaker: Emilee Weaver

Emilee Weaver, a professional horticulturist for over 25 years and horticultural therapist for more than 15, has extensive experience developing and managing therapeutic horticulture programs across diverse populations and settings. She has a background in social work, extensive horticulture experience, and a horticultural therapy certificate from the Horticultural Therapy Institute of Denver. Using this expertise, she has developed impactful programs, including a vocational HT initiative for adolescent girls in a high-security facility, a veteran reintegration program at Denver Botanic Gardens, and an HT program at a 400-bed psychiatric hospital.

Currently the Therapeutic Horticulture Program Manager at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, Emilee oversees local and international TH training, manages hybrid and online certification programs, and co-authored the 2019 HT textbook, The Profession and Practice of Horticultural Therapy. She is passionate about fostering a vibrant TH/HT community in the U.S. and beyond.

New Sortable Research Database Reveal

Root in Nature is proud to introduce an innovative and fully sortable research database, featuring over 150 research articles meticulously categorized and tagged for ease of use. Designed to empower practitioners with the latest evidence-based insights, this database is a comprehensive tool for exploring the therapeutic, social, and vocational impacts of horticultural therapy. Articles are sorted by Program Type (e.g., therapeutic, social, vocational) and tagged by Population Groups (e.g., older adults, individuals with mental health challenges, veterans), Settings (e.g., community gardens, hospitals, schools), and Health and Wellness Benefits (e.g., stress reduction, cognitive improvement, social engagement).

Users can also explore intersections with allied professions like occupational therapy, and social work, as well as outcomes such as improved mobility, greater sense of purpose, and faster recovery times. Whether you’re seeking peer-reviewed studies, case reports, or practical evaluation metrics, this database is a treasure trove of resources tailored to elevate your therapeutic horticulture practice.

Don’t miss the exclusive walkthrough of this game-changing tool, designed to inspire and equip practitioners worldwide.

Fireside Chat with Dr. Diane Relf: Reflections on the Early HT Pioneers\

Join Dr. Diane Relf for an intimate and engaging conversation as she shares personal reflections on the early pioneers of horticultural therapy. With a lifetime of experience in the field, she co-founded AHTA (then NCTRH) and founded the International People Plant Council.

Dr. Relf will recount stories and insights about key individuals who influenced her thinking and writing, including Rhea McCandliss, Alice Burlingame, Earl Copus, and Esuike Matsuo. She will also reflect on leaders from allied fields who shaped perspectives on the healing qualities of plants and landscapes, such as Charlie Lewis, Rachel Kaplan, and Roger Ulrich. This session offers a rare glimpse into the roots of therapeutic horticulture from someone who was personally influenced by its pioneers.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect with the past, gain wisdom from a trailblazer, and celebrate the legacy of those who shaped the field.

Speaker: Dr. Paula Diane Relf

Paula Diane Relf received her PhD in Horticulture from the University of Maryland in 1976 where she pioneered studies in Horticultural Therapy. She was a Professor and Extension Specialist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1976 to 2003 and Professor Emeritus to the present. In 1973 she was instrumental in the founding of what is now the American Horticultural Therapy Association. and served as president from 1975 to 1979. From 1989 to 2003, she chaired what is now the International People-Plant Council. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Horticultural Sciences in August 2002 and one of the top 100 ASHS members of the late 20th century for contributions to growth and change in horticulture in 2001. She received the American Horticultural Society’s National Horticultural Therapy Award, 2000; the National Council for Therapy and Rehabilitation through Horticulture (now AHTA) presented her their Award for Professional Service (1984) and the Award for Outstanding Service to Horticultural Therapy (1979).

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage, learn, and celebrate the global potential of TH & HT. Reserve your spot today!

July 17, 2025 @ 4:00 pm
- 5:00 pm EDT

Preserving the Harvest with Master Gardener Rebecca Last

This talk and demonstration describes ways to preserve the harvest and covers: drying (drying herbs; dehydration of fruits and vegetables); cooking; canning (preserves – jams, jellies, chutneys); vinegars; freezing; and curing, providing therapeutic horticulture professionals with valuable techniques to teach clients how to extend the benefits of their gardening efforts and engage in meaningful, skill-building activities.

 

Rebecca is a member of Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton. Her small garden is certified as wildlife habitat. She has received several awards from the Ontario horticulture community. Not a scientist herself, Rebecca is passionate about gardening science. She shares what she learns via her blog Gardening at Last. Her publications on ResearchGate have over 10,000 reads. Rebecca’s gardening addiction is enabled by her loving husband Richard and a collection of spoiled rescue cats.