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

Research has shown that spending time in nature is beneficial for both our bodies and our minds, and has the capacity to reduce stress, lower anxiety and encourage mental and emotional well-being.

Join Horticultural Therapy Practitioner Guinevere Kern for a ½ 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 protecting tomorrow, today.

Guinevere Kern is a Horticultural Therapy Practitioner who is passionate about facilitating physical and emotional movement to encourage curiosity, find nourishment, and build hope. 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, worked as a Nature-Based Therapist for people in recovery from Motorized Vehicle Accidents, and for the University of Guelph in the Department of Plant Agriculture in native wildflower and ornamental plant research.

She is currently working as a Horticulture Technical Instructor for Landscape Ontario and as a Horticultural Therapy Practitioner at Homewood Health Center, while advocating for the professional development of Horticultural Therapy as a viable therapeutic modality. 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. She is an active member of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association (CHTA), American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), and sits on the CHTA Education Committee.

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

If you would like to register for this exciting new workshop, please click here