Garden Route Therapy » News

The Living Food Box

hortstudent — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:04:02 +0000

From CBC Radio, on Here and Now, hear Toronto urban gardener Zora Ignjatovic speaking with Sarah Elton about rooftop gardening and the amazing Living Food Box. These “blue bin” like boxes, with a simple hydroponic system, are now available in Toronto. Ideal for Horticultural Therapists looking to introduce the magic of food gardening in locations with restricted space.

To hear more, download the Here and Now MP3 segment.

For purchasing, contact Zora at artdecos@rogers.com

long-term care facility unveils new garden

hortstudent — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:02:54 +0000

Malton Village long term care facility opens a new sustainable garden. The garden is part of a larger horticultural therapy program delivered by Horticultural Therapist, Tracy Ruffini. View the media release: A State of the Art Garden Opens at Malton Village

CHTA conference success

hortstudent — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:41:22 +0000

Congratulations to everyone involved in making the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association (CHTA) Annual Conference happen! It was hugely successful, an impressive showcase of horticultural therapy activities in Alberta and a major accomplishment to have the conference outside Ontario for the first time. The event was very professionally hosted by the Calgary Zoo and Botanical Gardens and featured an inspiring key note address from Gwenn Fried of the Glass Garden at the Rusk Institute in New York. The conference provided the wonderful and rare opportunity to meet with people from across Canada who also have a passion for Horticultural Therapy.

I had the opportunity to present with Christine Pollard the HT 101 and HT 102 workshops, designed for those new to Horticultural Therapy (HT) to get an introduction to the profession, where it is practiced and educational opportunities. I spoke specifically about my own journey as a student working towards professional registration with the CHTA and touched on my experiences with the Home Farm Horticultural Therapy Certificate, volunteering with the Julien Project and my six month internship at Providence Farm. I was pleased to find out afterwards that there were in fact a number of people at the conference who were looking to get started with their HT education and found the information provided very useful.

The two day conference had a theme of “Building Connections in Horticultural Therapy” and saw presentations delivered by art therapists, music therapists, physiotherapist, recreation therapists, labyrinth facilitators, horticulturalists and landscape architects.

During the conference, the CHTA held its Annual General Meeting for members. I was nominated for the position of Education Coordinator on the CHTA Board and officially joined at this time. My focus will be to get Education Guidelines approved before 2009, which I believe is critical to building the credibility of our organization. I look forward to working together with the Education Committee and Board of Directors to come to agreement on something we can all promote and be proud of. Feedback from those invested in horticultural therapy in Canada is always welcomed.

growing a healing garden

hortstudent — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:57:14 +0000

As of August, the Alberta Children’s Hospital has hired my fellow classmate, from the Home Farm Horticultural Therapy Certificate, Rebecca Feasby, as a horticultural therapist. Rebecca is currently working with the Impatient Group Program, Nephrology Clinic and the Dr. Gordon Townsend School on site. The work is part of a larger Therapeutic Arts Program that includes Music Therapy, Art Therapy and Horticultural Therapy.

Last Friday, before the CHTA Annual Conference, I was toured around the hospital by Becky, with Gwenn Fried from the Glass Garden at the Rusk Institute in New York. We had a lot of fun preparing Greek salad, with students from the school, using fresh herbs from the raised containers (above) and the creative juices were visibly flowing in the Nephrology Clinic as patients began designing a future outdoor garden space. The Children’s Orchard, right on hospital property, provided a tasty afternoon treat.