The Ah-Ha Moment

Diana Sette

Diana Sette is the Horticultural Therapist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, OH.  At the hospital, she cares for a 7,500 square foot healing garden while also providing horticultural therapy services for patients and caregivers throughout the hospital in groups and at bed-side.  Diana received a certificate in Horticultural Therapy from the Horticultural Therapy Institute.  She also holds certificates in Ecotherapy, as both a Permaculture Designer & Teacher, and is a proud supporter of the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program.  In 2021 and 2022, Diana was honored as a Healthcare Hero by Flying Horse Farms, and selected as an Ohio Herbal Elder by United Plant Savers.  Prior to working at UH, Diana worked for Holden Forests & Gardens as the Community Forester leading their vocational Tree Corps program, and as the Youth Manager of Green Corps, an urban agriculture program for teens. 

 

In addition to her therapeutic work with plants, Diana is a deep ecology interdisciplinary artist who integrates natural materials into sculpture, masks, costumes, visual art work, and performing art pieces.  Recently, she received an Urgent Art Fund and Ohio Arts Council Artist Award to support interdisciplinary artwork that she created in response to issues surrounding ecological collapse, climate change and our connection with Nature.  For many years, Diana lived and worked with the political Bread and Puppet Theater & Farm, touring and performing throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia.  Diana has been a sought-out speaker, teacher and interviewed by various media outlets including NPR and local news, with her published writing found in the Journal for Medicinal Plant Conservation, Permaculture Design Magazine, Hyperallergic, A Race Anthology: Dispatches from a Segregated City, and been highlighted in The Atlantic.

 

Diana is a passionate community activist, fighting for equity and access to Nature.  She serves as an appointee on her neighborhood’s Ward 15 Tree Canopy Steering Committee, and is currently involved in an active campaign to save the historic Cudell Commons Park in Cleveland. 

 

Though at the end of the day, what Diana is most passionate about is being the mother of her inspiring daughter Rosemary.  She loves spending time with her and their kitties, marveling insects, making music and dancing. More at dianasette.wordpress.com.

 

Kirk Hines

Kirk W. Hines, HTR, is a registered horticultural therapist and
Director of Horticultural Therapy at A.G. Rhodes, a nonprofit organization providing therapy and rehabilitation services, short-term recovery and long-term care at three metro Atlanta locations.

Kirk founded the Horticultural Therapy program at A.G. Rhodes when he began working there in 2013. Kirk also founded the Horticultural Therapy program at Wesley Woods Hospital, operated by Emory Healthcare, where he worked for 21 years prior to joining
A.G. Rhodes.

Kirk has been a member of the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) since 1993. He graduated from Berry College with a BS in Ornamental Horticulture/Horticultural Therapy Concentration and completed his practicum and internship in Horticultural Therapy at Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital.

A frequent lecturer at colleges, universities, professional organizations and garden societies, Kirk also educates students and interns in allied healthcare professions. He is a past national Board of Directors member of the AHTA, a charter executive Board of Directors member of the Georgia-Alabama Chapter of the AHTA and its 1999-2002 President. Articles on horticultural therapy, Wesley Woods of Emory Healthcare and A.G.

Rhodes programs have appeared in numerous professional journals, theses, popular periodicals, online, and in print and broadcast media, including television segments that have appeared both locally and nationally.

 

to contact: khines@agrhodes.org

 

to learn more about A.G.Rhodes: 

A.G. Rhodes is Atlanta’s premier provider of therapy and rehabilitation services, short-term recovery and long-term care. As one of Atlanta’s oldest nonprofits, A.G. Rhodes has set the standard for serving an aging community since 1904. With a dedicated staff of 600, we accommodate more than 1,200 seniors a year at our three homes located in Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties.
Our mission is to provide expert and compassionate rehabilitation therapy and residential care to seniors in metro Atlanta. For more information, visit www.agrhodes.org

Episode 36: MaryAnne McMillan

Maryanne is an active member of the American Horticultural Therapy Association by being on numerous work teams, a past president and ran AHTA conferences for over a decade.  Since 2008 Maryanne has worked with special needs populations at the non-profit Allies in NJ.  In the past she has been employed at Rutgers from 1994-2020 and Midland School from 2001-2005.  
 
Maryanne completed her studies between Rutgers and NYBG HT program and became an HTR in 2008.  The populations she has worked with include:  Menlo Park VA Home, Youth at Midland School - Special Needs school, Youth at Risk (at the NJ State school for Boys- a locked down facility), various elderly nursing homes, Rutgers Gardens (27 years as Volunteer Coordinator) working with volunteers of all ages and now with Allies, Inc.  a non-profit that serves the Special Needs. 
 
Email or click the link below for more information: 
MMcMillan@alliesnj.org
Project Grow

Cheney Creamer

Cheney Creamer (B.A., V.F.T.C.) is the Founder and President of One Green Square Wellness Consulting. She is a Horticultural Therapy Specialist, Organizational Wellness Consultant, HeartMath® Certified Coach, and Cannabis Sommelier & Educator. Cheney is also an Organic Master Gardener (O.M.G.) and the current Chair of the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association (CHTA).

As the Chair of the CHTA, Cheney collaborates with and supports horticultural therapy organizations, professionals, and students around the world. Bringing a collaborative and inclusive approach to the field, Cheney is passionate about bringing therapeutic gardening and horticultural therapy to every community across Canada. She believes deeply in helping everyone to experience the benefits of getting their hands, feet, and face in the soil!

For 20+ years, Cheney has been a personal coach and professional facilitator providing therapeutic, nature-based experiences to help individuals, organizations, and communities build resilience to stress and adapt to change. Beyond coaching and program facilitation, Cheney also works with communities to rebuild native plant food corridors, develop public food forestry projects, and re-imagine their community gardens to apply a more inclusive, therapeutic gardening approach.

You can frequently find Cheney at the Ryall Park Therapeutic Community Garden (in New Westminster, British Columbia) with one of her dogs (Ginger or Waggy Maggie), but if you’re not in the area, feel free to connect by emailing cheney@onegreensquare.ca.

Siang Yu Tham

Siang Yu Tham, MA, is an instructor and research scholar in the Environmental Horticulture department at the University of Florida and program manager of the therapeutic horticulture program at Wilmot Botanical Gardens. She received her Certificate in Horticultural Therapy from the University of Florida and is also a Certified Permaculture Designer. In 2019 she founded By Wind and Wave, a company in Singapore which conducts nature-based programs including guided walks and therapeutic horticulture programs. Siang is also the editor of Cultivate, an epublication by FLHHN. She hopes to someday find a community in the countryside to work and live in agreement with Nature.

April Ellis

April Ellis is a licensed clinical social worker and is employed at the geriatric psychiatric hospital located in the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living in San Francisco. She received her bachelor degree in Recreation Administration from California Polytechnic State University and her masters in social work from San Francisco State University. She completed her horticultural therapy certificate through Horticultural Therapy Institute and became a registered HTR in March 2023. She provides horticultural therapy groups at the acute geriatric psychiatric hospital, she built the two therapeutic gardens there and she leads indoor HT groups on skilled nursing units through ElderGrow programs. She is an active member of the California Horticultural Therapy Network.  She owns 2 pet ducks, Theodora the explorah, and Bootsie

National HT week 2023, Irene & Erin

Come listen to a different type of podcast from Irene and Erin where we talk about National Horticultural Therapy Week, how we became HTs and our goals for 2023!  

Candice Shoemaker

Dr. Shoemaker earned B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Floriculture from Michigan State University, and a M.S. in Horticultural Therapy from Kansas State University. Prior to returning to Kansas State University as a faculty member in 2001, Dr. Shoemaker completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Virginia Tech University, held a teaching position in horticulture at Berry College in Rome, GA, and was the first Director of the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

In her teaching and research faculty appointment Dr. Shoemaker became internationally recognized for her expertise and leadership in horticultural therapy and human issues in horticulture. She developed and directed the award-winning online graduate certificate program in horticultural therapy and was one of the founders of the highly successful Master of Science program in urban food systems. Her research program focused on the physical and psychological health benefits of gardening, focusing on children and older adults, and the community benefits of urban agriculture.

Dr. Shoemaker also served as department head for the Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources from 2014 – 2018 and Special Assistant to the Dean, College of Agriculture from 2018 – 2022.  During her K-State career Dr. Shoemaker held leadership positions in several national and international organizations, including Board of Directors for the American Horticultural Therapy Association, Editorial Board of the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture and Education Chair and Executive Chair of the International People Plant Council.

Dr. Shoemaker has been recognized with many awards including the Charles A. Lewis Excellence in Research Award, the American Horticultural Therapy Association Alice Burlingame Humanitarian Service Award and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Excellence in College and University Teaching National Award. She was elected a fellow of the American Society of Horticultural Science in 2020.

Her email is : cshoemak@ksu.edu

 

 

SEASON 4: Libba Shortridge

Libba Shortridge is a professionally registered horticultural therapist in Atlanta, GA. She recently retired from practice at Skyland Trail, a mental health facility for adults and adolescents where she wove together her fascination with the natural
world and her awe of human nature for 15 rewarding years. She graduated from the Horticultural Therapy Institute in 2009, and in 2017 was awarded the Rhea McCandliss Professional Service Award by the American Horticultural Therapy Association for her innovative programmatic development at Skyland Trail. Libba did not set out to be a horticultural therapist. After receiving her master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia in 1987, she practiced for 21 years in the Atlanta area. It was her signature style of collaborative work and empowering others that ultimately led her to discover the field of horticultural therapy. A well rooted, sixth generation Atlantan, Libba attributes her parents and her up bringing for the momentum which propelled her into a lifelong embrace of nature, with positivity and ingenuity. She has received many awards, including Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, but the greatest award of all
was the Humanitarian Award at Skyland Trail, whose recipient is chosen by the clients and colleagues. Libba is currently busy addressing the need for horticultural therapy programming for dementia care in the Atlanta area, including the design of a ground-breaking rooftop garden project at Canterbury Court in collaboration with Dr. John Zeisel, founder at I’m Still Here & the Hearthstone Institute.

Rebecca Haller

Rebecca L. Haller, HTM directs the Horticultural Therapy Institute in Denver, Colorado, is affiliate faculty for Colorado State University, writes curricula, and teaches horticultural therapy classes at sites across the U.S. She wrote for and co-edited two major textbooks: Horticultural Therapy Methods: Connecting People and
Plants in Health Care, Human Services, and Therapeutic Programs and The Profession and Practice of Horticultural Therapy – both used extensively in the US and around the world. In HT practice, she developed a vocational HT program in 1981 (still in operation) for adults with developmental disabilities and provided HT and TH for a wide array of people through Denver Botanic Gardens. She has served as president and board member of AHTA and is active on work teams with a particular interest in education and professional development. She is passionate about the healing and therapeutic benefits of gardens and gardening.