Episodes
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
SEASON 4: Libba Shortridge
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
Sunday Jan 29, 2023
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.
Saturday Dec 31, 2022
Rebecca Haller
Saturday Dec 31, 2022
Saturday Dec 31, 2022
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.
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Derrick Stowell
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Derrick is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist and a professionally registered horticultural therapist. He is the Education and Horticultural Therapy Program Administrator for the University of Tennessee Gardens. Derrick is responsible for creating the University of Tennessee Gardens horticultural therapy program. He holds a BA in environmental studies and outdoor recreation from Maryville College and an MS in therapeutic recreation from the University of Tennessee. Derrick received his Ph.D. in plant, soil, and environmental sciences from the University of Tennessee.
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Leah Diehl
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Elizabeth (Leah) Diehl, RLA, HTM is Director of Therapeutic Horticulture at Wilmot Botanical Gardens and Lecturer in Environmental Horticulture, both at the University of Florida (UF). She is a licensed landscape architect, a master gardener, and a professionally registered horticultural therapist. She manages and teaches an undergraduate certificate program in horticultural therapy at UF, conducts research projects, and runs therapeutic horticulture programming for diverse populations, where she coordinates clients, volunteers, and students. She has given lectures, workshops, and trainings on horticultural therapy, healing gardens, and related topics to many groups in the U.S. and abroad. Leah began her work in horticultural therapy in Chicago in 1993, where she started up a therapeutic and pre-vocational program for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities at Misericordia Home.
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
26. Garron Dorr.
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
Garron just finished his Horticulture degree in April of 2022. He is now finishing his horticultural therapy coursework at the Horticultural Therapy Institute in the fall. He is a newcomer to our field and would love to connect with others sharing the similar viewpoint. "This profession is all brand new to me but theres got to be someone out there, seeing things through my lens". Garron comes from the hospitality industry and is currently interning at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Leigh Anne Starling
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Leigh Anne Starling is a registered horticultural therapist,
a certified rehabilitation counselor, and a licensed clinical
professional counselor. She received her B.S. in
Horticulture with a concentration in horticultural therapy
from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
her M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Francisco
State University, and completed a post-master’s clinical
counseling program at the University of Baltimore,
Maryland.
Leigh Anne has worked in the field of horticultural therapy
for over 30 years in therapeutic, rehabilitative, and
vocational programs serving individuals of all ages and
abilities. Leigh Anne has designed and implemented
several adaptive gardens for health care facilities. As a
professional therapist, she incorporates horticultural
therapy into her practice. She served on the AHTA Board
of Directors 2007-2021.
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Markus Wullimann
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Markus grew up in Switzerland surrounded by plants immersed in his family's greenhouse business and obtaining a degree in Horticulture from Zurich University. Markus brought that passion to the United States in 1994 where he worked for a wholesale grower an a plant breeder before he began his career at CooperRiis, Healing Farm, in 2003. Markus worked in different capacities for CooperRiis and is now running Horticultural Therapy sessions and is HT supervisor.
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Richard Slayton
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Richard’s career spans over four decades of service to the profession of
landscape architecture and the creation of environments for Healthcare
and Senior Living. He has served on the Uniform National Exam Review
Board; as American Society of Landscape Architects executive committee
member, including New York City Chapter president and Wisconsin Chapter
treasurer; as well as a board member on the American Horticultural Therapy Association. As evidenced by a decade of service to the City of Madison Urban
Design Commission, Richard is passionate about improving the quality of
life in social environments. Following graduate studies, he has incorporated
the concept of biophilia to explore enhancements in the quality of our
interaction with nature.
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Peg Schofield
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Tuesday Mar 29, 2022
Peg Schofield, MA, HTR, is an educator and Registered Horticultural Therapist working in the Philadelphia area. She is an Adjunct Professor and Program Director of the Horticultural Therapy Certificate Program at Temple University. Peg has served as President of the Mid-
Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network, and as the Director of Horticulture at Cathedral Village Retirement Community. Currently she works as a Horticultural Consultant and Horticultural Therapist, serving communities of Breast Cancer survivors, individuals with PTSD, and those
coping with grief experiences.
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Colleen Griffin
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
" After a 25 year career in the health care field, I decided a change was necessary. I followed my heart and enrolled in horticulture classes at a local community college. From there I found HT and attended HTI in Colorado. I acquired my HTR in 2018 and have since worked with adults and children with special needs in vocational and developmental/ behavioral programs. For the past 4 years, I have been affiliated with Dempsey Centers for Quality Cancer Care serving not only those with a cancer diagnosis but their families and caregivers as well. My work with Dempsey centers on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.
Recently, I became involved with teaching master classes through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program.
I serve on the AHTA conference planning work team, and I am currently the membership coordinator for NEHTN and organize the quarterly newsletter for that network". - Colleen