Meeting Activities: Speaker, Flower Show. Click here for Flower Show details, Master Gardeners (available for questions)
Speaker: Guinevere Kern
Topic: Optimizing Horticulture for Health: The Case for Horticultural Therapy
Presentation Description:
“I cultivate my garden and my garden cultivates me” ~ Robert Breault
Research has shown that activities such as planting seeds and potting, watering, and caring for plants in indoor and outdoor settings have the capacity to significantly benefit both physical and mental health. Suitable for all ages, abilities and budgets, horticultural activities like these have been shown to 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 helps clients develop self-esteem and new ways of thinking about life and self-care.
Join us on October 2nd when Guinevere Kern, Registered Horticultural Therapist, dives deeper into what Horticultural Therapy is, how horticulture can support health and wellness, and why this matters in the context of individual and communal health.
Presenter Bio:
Guinevere Kern is a passionate advocate, educator, and practitioner who strives to encourage curiosity, find nourishment, and build hope through the transformative power of horticulture.
Her current roles include working at Homewood Health Center in the Horticultural Therapy Department, teaching with Landscape Ontario’s GROW training program as a Horticulture Technical Instructor, and advocating for the professional development of Horticultural Therapy as a viable therapeutic modality.
She is an active member of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association (CHTA), American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), and sits on the CHTA Education Committee. Guinevere 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.