We Have Moved! Join us at www.healinglandscapes.org/blog.

Photo courtesy of Henry Domke

The Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog is now happily nestled into the TLN Website.

Our new url is www.healinglandscapes.org/blog. See you over there!

Happy Earth Day!

Photo by Robert Rodriguez, Jr.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." ~William Shakespeare

A TLN Blog Update...and Great News About a Conference at the White House!

Photo by Naomi Sachs

Apologies for the sparse postings lately. We are working hard to integrate this blog with the TLN website (right now they are under two different URLs - long story), and it's all taking a little longer than expected to switch over. Partly because we are switching from Blogger to Wordpress. Those of you who don't blog will be nonplussed, but those of you who have ever tried switching from one blog platform to another might be quaking in your boots at the thought! I certainly am. So, needless to say, bear with us as we make the transition.

In the meantime, we're still posting all kinds of good information on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/therapeuticlandscapes), so please become a "fan" and join the party over there. For those of you not (yet!) on Facebook, I'll simply say that it's not just a site where kids share pictures of last night's drinking binge. Most businesses and non-profit organizations have Facebook pages, and it's an excellent way to stay informed about what's going on and to connect with other like-minded people. For example, today the TLN, and Outdoor Afro, and the Children & Nature Network all posted information about tomorrow's Conference on America's Great Outdoors at the White House. That's right! The Obama administration cares about the connections between us and nature.


I don't know why the preview image isn't displaying for this video; it will play if you hit play - it's a few-minute shot of the serviceberries pictured above, swaying in the breeze with the sound of birds chirping in the background. Maybe in Wordpress it'll show up! Enjoy.

AHTA Conference Request for Proposals - Due 4/15!

Photo of wild plum by Henry Domke

Proposals for this year's American Horticultural Therapy Association's conference, In Our Nature, are due soon - April 15th - so if you have something to say and you think others should hear it, get busy and submit your proposal. Last year's conference was excellent - great speakers and poster presentations, wonderful tours, lots of networking opportunities. And this year, October 13-16, it's in collaboration with the Chicago Botanic Garden. Click HERE to link to the AHTA conference page, where you can download the RFP.

Oh, and the Therapeutic Landscapes Network just sent out its March/April e-newsletter. It's only available to members on our mailing list, so if you'd like to join (membership is free), click HERE. Thanks, and happy reading!

Hort Therapy in the Wall Street Journal...and Call for Papers!

Legacy Emanuel Children's Garden, mentioned in the article

In the Wall Street Journal today, a great article about horticultural therapy programs: "When Treatment Involves Dirty Fingernails," by Anne Marie Chaker. Make sure to check out the slideshow online.

Here are two interesting statistics from the article: A 2005 study of 107 patients published in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation indicated that cardiac rehabilitation patients in a one-hour gardening class clocked in lower heart rates and better dispositions than patients who received a generic patient-education class. Another study, published in 2008 in HortiTechnology, showed that 18 residents of an assisted-living facility showed a significant increase in self-rated health and happiness after participating in four horticulture classes.

And speaking of horticultural therapy, the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture has put out a call for papers for its next issue. Manuscripts may include research projects, case studies, program and services descriptions, therapeutic practice descriptions, therapeutic horticulture philosophies, therapeutic design project descriptions, relevant book reviews, and other related topics. See the AHTA website for more details and for the editor's contact information. It's an excellent opportunity to share what you know with others.