this is an idea resource for horticultural therapists and activity professionals in senior care facilites, hosptals and rehab centers. There are themed gardening activities for a wide range of functioning levels and hundreds of activites that relate to the plants being grown. Avenues for socialization, opportunites to relive memories and make new discoveries abound as residents, patients, clients and staff share the joy and wonder of gardening.

Growing with Gardening: A Twelve-month Guide for Therapy, Recreation, and Education

Widely accepted treatment methods using horticulture as a therapeutic modality Through the years, horticultural therapy (HT) has evolved from its use only by volunteer gardeners to become a recognized and respected therapeutic modality conducted by trained, registered professionals. Horticultural Therapy Methods: Making Connections in Health Care, Human Service, and Community Programs details the basics of the growing, time-proven practice of therapy through gardening. Experienced practitioners and educators discuss horticultural therapy theory, application, and the impressive positive impact it has on clients. Beginners are educated on key issues and given the tools needed to effectively treat clients. Horticultural therapy uses widely accepted treatment methods in a calming, creative program framework. Horticultural Therapy Methods challenges pre-conceived notions of the value of this treatment by describing the processes, techniques for practice, and the rationale for their use. This manual not only can be used as a reference and a guide for students but can also be used by educators and those conducting horticultural therapy to help construct effective treatment programs. Health care and human service professionals will find this resource a powerful ally in the therapy, treatment, and education of inmates, residents, patients, trainees, and students. Horticultural Therapy Methods is a clear helpful manual that explains: the types of programs, settings, and goals the process of treatment planning developing sessions—including activity or task selections to meet treatment objectives motivation and behavior management techniques documentation guidelines three types of HT programs resources for HT activity ideas practical approaches for mental health Horticultural Therapy Methods is a valuable addition to the literature and is crucial for all levels of horticultural therapists, occupational therapists, therapeutic recreational specialists, social workers, special educators, community horticulture leaders, horticulturists, mental health professionals of all types, and students.

This encyclopedia brings together key established and emerging research findings in geropsychology. It is a comprehensive coverage of the entire breadth of the field, giving readers access to all major subareas and illustrating their interconnections with other disciplines. Entries delve deep into key areas of geropsychology such as perception, cognition, clinical, organizational, health, social, experimental and neuropsychology. In addition to that, the encyclopedia covers related disciplines such as neuroscience, social science, population health, public policy issues pertaining to retirement, epidemiology and demography and medicine. Paying careful attention to research internationally, it cites English and non-English empirical literature from around the globe. This encyclopedia is relevant to a wide audience that include researchers, clinicians, students, policy makers and nongovernmental agencies.

This comprehensive and authoritative guide offers an evidence-based overview of healing gardens and therapeutic landscapes from planning to post-occupancy evaluation. It provides general guidelines for designers and other stakeholders in a variety of projects, as well as patient-specific guidelines covering twelve categories ranging from burn patients, psychiatric patients, to hospice and Alzheimer's patients, among others. Sections on participatory design and funding offer valuable guidance to the entire team, not just designers, while a planting and maintenance chapter gives critical information to ensure that safety, longevity, and budgetary concerns are addressed.

Bring a Sensory Garden to life in a structured therapeutic horticulture program! Intergenerational gardening programs bring the generations together. This book presents a tested, hands-on, easy-to-use activity plan that benefits the development of relationships between adults over 70 and school-age children. It shows how to limit frustration for both groups, how to plan activities that are functional and non-contrived, and how to assure that the interaction between elders and children is rewarding and pleasant for both. The activities rely on inexpensive, readily available tools and resources available throughout the growing season. While other books have discussed designing a Sensory Garden for people with disabilities, Generations Gardening Together applies the Sensory Garden design to a specific population, with a focus on the human senses that are stimulated by the garden. This unique sourcebook shows you, step-by-step, how a Sensory Garden can come alive in a structured therapeutic horticulture program. Generations Gardening Together shows how to create a Sensory Garden that will stimulate young and old gardeners alike. It outlines a six-week program curriculum that has been used and developed over ten years to use gardening as a program to bring generations together. You’ll learn therapeutic techniques that benefit elders by promoting self-esteem, creating feelings of pride, competence, and satisfactionboth from creating a garden and through passing on their knowledge and wisdom to the younger generation, inspiring them to use both their long-term and short-term memory skills, increasing physical stimulation, and providing the comfort of familiar plants and their aromas, which can trigger memories of people, places, and vocations. The activities in the book also benefit children through the establishment of a safe environment where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can come togetheran ideal social situation in which youth can seek the wisdom of elders. Children learn important lessons about accountability, nurturing, and responsibility, for working in a garden teaches youth about life, death, hope, patience, and beauty. Each activity session described in Generations Gardening Together includes the following information: titledescribes the content of the program general statement of purposeidentifies the intent of the program goal(s)outlines the expected outcome(s) of the activity program proceduresprovides a detailed description of each step and the order of the program’s activities evaluationincludes what and how therapeutic program goals are to be measured and recorded materials and equipmentidentifies all the necessary equipment and supplies needed to facilitate the program activity This important resource shows how to provide appropriate (separate) orientation to seniors and children, what to emphasize and what to avoid in creating a program in your community, how to create garden themes that reflect the interests of the participants (ethnic foods, bird and butterfly gardens, planting to attract wildlife, etc.), how to decide what activities are appropriate for the developmental level of the participants, and much more. Generations Gardening Together is an essential resource for therapeutic recreation specialists, occupational therapists, therapeutic horticulture professionals, activity coordinators, master gardeners, and anyone working in an environment where elders and children come together.

Winner of the American Horticultural Therapy Association's Book Publication Award 2014 A garden or nature setting presents the perfect opportunity for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and special needs to learn, play and strengthen body and mind. This book empowers teachers and parents with little gardening know-how to get outside and use nature to motivate young learners. Using a mindfulness approach, Natasha Etherington presents a simple gardening program that offers learning experiences beyond those a special needs student can gain within the classroom. The book outlines the many positive physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional and social benefits of getting out into the garden and provides specially adapted gardening activities for a variety of needs, including those with developmental disabilities and behavioural difficulties, as well as wheelchair users. With a focus on the therapeutic potential of nature, the book shows that gardening can help reduce feelings of anxiety, provide an outlet for physical aggression, build self-esteem through the nurturing of plants and much more. With this practical program, teachers and parents can easily adopt gardening activities into their schedules and enjoy the benefits of introducing children with special needs to nature and the rhythms of the seasons.