Peace in Planting: Horticulture as Therapy for Healthful Aging

Program Presented by the UNE Center for Excellence in Aging & Health in partnership with the Alzheimer's Association, Maine Chapter.

Learn how horticultural therapy can be used as a therapeutic modality for those with dementia, their care partners, and any older adults who wishes to maintain good health and well-being throughout their lives.

Horticultural therapy (HT) is a time-honored practice yet an emerging profession in Maine. The practice is evidence-based, accessible, and highly effective across a broad range of populations. The American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) defines horticultural therapy as “the engagement of a client in horticultural activities facilitated by a trained therapist to achieve specific and documented treatment goals. AHTA believes that horticultural therapy is an active process which occurs in the context of an established treatment plan where the process itself is considered the therapeutic activity rather than the end product.” Horticultural therapy programs are utilized in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor settings.

Facilitators, Colleen Griffin, and Laura Rumpf are registered horticultural therapists (HTRs) who co-own the LLC partnership, “Cultivating Well-Being.” https://www.cultivatingwell-being.com/

Colleen serves on the board of the Northeast Horticultural Therapy Network. The populations she has worked with include children and adults with developmental and intellectual challenges and teens living with substance abuse. Colleen conducted therapeutic horticulture classes at Dempsey Center for Quality Cancer Care in Lewiston. Currently, she serves on the faculty of the Horticultural Therapy Institute in Denver, Colorado.

Laura currently serves on the board of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Since 2015, Laura has conducted horticultural therapy for many populations including those living with dementia and their care partners, veterans, people with brain injury, and those with developmental & intellectual challenges. She is a collaborator and consultant with the Garden Discovery Program at the University of Washington Memory and Brain Wellness Center, Seattle, WA.