DOWNERS GROVE, IL — National Garden Bureau, along with program sponsors American Meadows, Ball Horticultural Company and Sakata Seed America are proud to announce the five therapeutic gardens receiving grants totaling more than $7,500.
For more than a decade, National Garden Bureau has provided much-needed resources for worthy therapeutic gardens. This funding allows these gardens to continue and expand their good work for deserving clients.
After a two-week online voting period, the public has named the five winning gardens:
· City Green Inc, Clifton, New Jersey | First place vote-recipient; winner of a $3,000 grant.
City Green is a 501(c)3 nonprofit farming and gardening organization, based in Clifton, New Jersey. Their programs offer practical, technical and financial resources to foster equitable access to local food and green spaces, in support of sustainable, healthy communities. Their Therapeutic Horticulture Program offers therapeutic and vocational opportunities for special populations, including local transition services programs and older adult centers.
- Hope Grows Healing Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Runner-Up; winner of a $1,500 grant.
Hope Grows’ mission is to inspire hope through nature while empowering family caregivers to seek wellness of mind, body, and spirit. Their therapeutic landscapes are thoughtfully designed as havens of tranquility, inspiration, reflection, and healing for the invaluable family caregivers in our community.
· Frelinghuysen Arboretum Hort Therapy, Morristown, New Jersey | Runner-Up; winner of a $1,000 grant.
This horticulture therapy garden is a series of raised beds for wheelchair accessibility plus 24 raised beds for individuals to have their own garden areas. We grow annuals, perennials, vegetables and herbs through several different programs that participants can experience. Interns from local schools help maintain the gardens.
· Gospel Inc. Healing Haven, Lakeland, Florida | Runner-Up; winner of a $1,000 grant.
Gospel Inc. is a Christ-centered community providing a home and micro-enterprise work opportunity to the formerly homeless at Gospel Village. The “Healing Haven” project aims to create a therapeutic garden designed to promote mental health, physical well-being, and community engagement in their local area.
· Wayside House Healing Garden, Delray Beach, Florida | Runner-Up; winner of a $1,000 grant.
Wayside House is a women’s addiction treatment center founded 50 years ago by Susan B. Anthony, great-niece of the women’s rights advocate.
The garden is an integral part of a full-circle horticulture therapy and nutrition program. The clients grow vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees in raised beds as part of their ongoing therapy.
Additional details about each garden can be found on the NGB website. National Garden Bureau, American Meadows, Ball Horticultural Company and Sakata Seed America would like to recognize all grant applicants that participated this year. All are listed on the NGB website. NGB encourages support of these and other therapeutic gardens by industry, local communities, and individuals.
The judges who read all the applications and narrowed them down to the five finalists deserve a huge thank-you. Those judges are:
Patty Cassidy, Vice President of the American Horticultural Therapy Association
Isabel Fuenzalida, Culture & Organizational Development, Sakata Seed America
Alicia Green, Buehler Enabling Garden Coordinator, Chicago Botanic Garden
Mark Gross, Corporate Giving, Ball Horticultural Company
Nancy Ketchmark, Owner, Flowers Contained
Barbara Kreski, Retired Director, Horticultural Therapy, Chicago Botanic Garden
Mike Lizotte, Owner/Managing Partner at American Meadows
For more information about National Garden Bureau, please contact Diane Blazek.
