Activities in Horticultural Therapy (with Donna Soszynski)

How to develop, plan and integrate horticultural (plant and nature-based) activities into your professional or personal practice.
About this Event

This is an in-depth focused workshop on Horticultural Therapy activities, along with a brief overview of Horticultural Therapy.

Horticultural Therapy uses multi-sensory plant/nature-based activities to address physical, cognitive, emotional and social needs. HT creates a supportive environment, helping to enhance spiritual well-being, improve mood, foster relaxation, boost self-esteem, decrease depression, reduce anger, lessen anxiety, increase physical motor skills (fine and large), and improve social interaction, sensory overload, and memory. Furthermore, HT can potentiallty help to strengthen muscles, regain coordination, balance, and support endurance.

This course will include how to adapt HT activities in different populations including children, seniors, people living with cancer, and individuals with cognitive impairment due to dementia or brain trauma.

We will look at working in diverse settings such as schools, community gardens, garden clubs, independent living and assisted care facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, private homes, hospice and palliative care settings and correctional facilities. HT brings nature inside to people who, for logistical and medical reasons, are limited to being outside (for example those with limited mobility, compromised immune systems and sensory integration disorder).

HT fosters resilience, renewal, regrowth and rejuvenation, and it allows people to re-emerge as they regain and rediscover well-being. It can help increase joyful living, bodyfulness, and one's reconnection to the spirit(s) of nature.

Individual or group goals can be applied to determine specific objectives, for healing and rehabilitation.

A few of the HT activities that will be discussed include:

Flower pounding
Mini healing landscapes
Herbal blending
Mandala Making with natural elements
Aromapourri
Magical Moss & Fairy Garden
Prayer Flag Making
Pine Cone Potpourri

This workshop is for anyone interested in learning about hands-on HT activities, the therapeutic use of nature, and how to integrate it into their professional or personal practice. It promises to be a great resource for eco-therapists and forest bathing leaders as well as therapists, counsellors, nature-based preschool teachers, park rangers and gardeners; basically, anyone who loves plants and being in nature!

Please note that we do not record our online workshops.

About Donna Soszynski

Donna Soszynski is a Horticultural Therapist, certified through the New York Botanical Garden Horticultural Therapy Program. In her HT business, Your New Nature, she leads classes and workshops implementing comprehensive plant activity-based programs. These bring benefits to seniors living in assisted care and independent living communities, children and people living with cancer. In addition, Donna teaches and develops a curriculum for garden classes. She is skilled at selecting appropriate methodology to adapt and meet client goals. Donna has also studied Fine Art & ceramics, and brings a creative approach to her practice.