Horticultural Therapy WorkShop

OPA is excited to announce the new Full Day Horticultural Therapy Workshop

Mutual Support: The Bridging of Horticultural Therapy and Green Spaces to Build Communal Health

“I cultivate my garden and my garden cultivates me” - Robert Breault

Research has shown that horticulture activities and intentional engagement in nature has the capacity to benefit our bodies and our minds, reduce stress, lower anxiety and encourage overall mental and emotional well-being.

Rooted in those findings, Horticultural Therapy is the formal practice of purposefully using plants and nature-related activities to achieve goals that promote well-being for its participants. Among other things, the cultivation and nurturing of living material develop self-esteem and new ways of thinking about life and self-care.

Join Horticultural Therapy Practitioner Guinevere Kern for an introductory full day workshop that explores the multifaceted ways in which horticulture can support health and wellness, how this can inform engagement in green spaces, and why this matters to individual and communal health.

Topics that will be covered will include: 

• what is horticultural therapy

• current research supporting the therapeutic application of horticulture

• relevancy to pressing issues of today

• applications for green professions to support human health and well being.

About the Instructor

Guinevere Kern is a Horticultural Therapy Practitioner, Educator, and Speaker who is passionate about facilitating physical and emotional movement to encourage curiosity, find nourishment, and build hope. Her current roles include working at a specialized addictions and mental health treatment facility as a Horticultural Therapy Practitioner, teaching with Landscape Ontario GROW program as a Horticulture Technical Instructor, and advocating for the professional development of Horticultural Therapy as a viable therapeutic modality. 

Guinevere has completed an intensive 1000 hour Horticultural Therapy Internship specializing in therapeutic gardening and community development, founded a Horticultural Therapy Program in a long-term care facility, and was lead Nature Therapist for people in recovery from Motorized Vehicle Accidents. Her horticulture background includes the University of Guelph in the Department of Plant Agriculture in native wildflower and ornamental plant research, nursery, landscape, and greenhouse work in Canada, and organic agriculture in the United States.

Guinevere is an active member of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association (CHTA), American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), and sits on the CHTA Education Committee. She brings a transdisciplinary approach to health and wellness that invites us to cultivate the precious interconnected relationship between plants, the broader environment, ourselves, and one another. 

Note: This course is provided in one day online seminar.