Six ways to Survive Winter in the Best Way Possible In Denmark they call it “hygge”, in Sweden, “friluftsliv” and in Norway it is “koselig”. Regardless of which term you prefer they all express a similar concept. Surviving the cold, dark, isolating days of winter in the best possible way. This year, with COVID 19…
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Working Together to Advance Horticultural Therapy & Human Well-Being In Ibero-American Countries Guest Author: Leila Alcade in collaboration with Daniela Silva-Rodríguez Bonazzi We are about to finish the year and I have thought that I should transmit a positive message, despite the situation that is being experienced worldwide. I guess you have probably faced so…
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Mindfulness Supports a Holistic Approach to Life. As 2020 comes to an end, our stress level as a nation is palpable. According to the American Psychological Association report: Stress in America 2020, Americans are feeling significantly higher levels of stress compared to last year. COVID-19 is the leading source of this increase. Young adults are…
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Healing Garden in Lima Peru In April 2019 we implemented a Healing Garden at an orphanage in Lima, Peru and in May 2 the horticultural therapy program began by serving children (boys and girls) ages 6 to 12. During COVID-19 every activity was taken away from the kids for months including a move to distance…
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The purpose of this article is to encourage other people to be horticultural therapists and to use plants and gardening to improve people’s well-being, because we can make the difference. In Spain, my country, interest in horticultural therapy programs is still emerging. For that reason, in 2018 I co-founded the Spanish Horticultural Therapy Association hoping…
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Today, throughout Western Europe, Green Care Farms are a developing an innovative care concept that recognizes the importance of the psycho-social needs and quality of life for participants. Green Care is an umbrella term used to describe a broad spectrum of health promoting interventions that all use both biotic and abiotic elements of nature. Therapeutic…
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For several years I have been following Karthikeyan’s Vijayakumar, founder of Horticultural Therapy Healing Centre (HTHC) in Bangalore, India, work in India offering horticultural therapy programs for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and children with special needs. As many of us are doing in other parts of the world, Karthikeyan is raising awareness in India on the many…
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“My dorm is like winter, dark and cold, and this class is like spring. Not all plants make it through the winter, but with the help of this class, I will make it to spring”. -an Insight Garden Program participant at Avenal State Prison The United States has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the…
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By: Dr. Melissa Bezares- Hernández,Clinical Psychologist at Albizu ClinicMayagüez, Puerto Rico In this opportunity I would like to introduce Dr. Melissa Bezares- Hernández whom I met in November 2019 in Lima, Peru, and her practice in Puerto Rico. During the month of November 2019, I had the great opportunity to begin my official training as a…
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After practicing gardening as therapy since 2011 in a Rehabilitation Center in Lima, Peru I have become aware of two very important aspects of this practice: sensory stimulation and the use of metaphors, crucial for positive outcomes. Gardening keeps our mind active; connects us with life cycles – birth, growth, death and regeneration become real…
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