American Horticultural Therapy Association CALIFORNIA CHAPTER NEWSLETTER

NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL, COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE N EVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL, COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD INDEED, IT IS THAT ONLY HAS. MARGARET MEAD . MARGARET MEAD WORLD INDEED, IT IS THE ONLY THING THE EVER THING THAT EVER HAS
Formerly known as Formerly known as People Plant Connection A publication ofof the A publication the California Chapter, AHTA California Chapter, AHTA Fall/Winter 2008 Fall/Winter 2008 Volume 10, Issue 3 3 Volume 10, Issue

NEWSLETTER
Happy New Year 2009

To Reflect and Ponder

The California Chapter of AHTA gets ready for the new , as we Reflect on 2008 and Ponder the New Year. The enthusiasm and desire to grow and continue expanding has become obvious and contagious. Students, HTRs, Allied Professionals, HT Program Developers and Directors, Landscapes Architects, Landscape Designers and the public want the connection. Stay tuned in for updates on the website. And now, in this newsletter join us for a walk through 2008. We wish you a Happy and Prosperous 2009.

MARK YOUR CALENDERS MARK YOUR CALENDERS

San Francisco Flower Show, San Mateo, CA Board. March 18-22, 2009 I need help or An exhibit incorporating input with this elements of accessible Mark Your be on display design will Calendars section...ANYONE? in the main theme gardens. HT Institute, March ????? San Francisco Botanical Gardens, San Francisco Flower February 19-22, 2009 Show Rebecca Haller from The March ?????? HT Institute in Boulder Belmar Symposium Colorado will teach the San Francisco Botanical course Horticultural Gardens Management. Therapy Rebecca Haller from The See the HT Institute web HT for more information. site Institute in Boulder Colorado will or has Legacy Rehabilitation taught a course in HT. Services, Portland, OR, This course is May 16, 2009 certified by AHTA and .. 2009 Adult Rehabiltation Legacy Foundation and in the Garden: Tools for Theresa Hazen Funtional Therapeutic Will hold a symposium??? Outcomes. Info: Teresia Hazen, 503-413-6507, Etc.

A Historical Perspective of the California Chapter AHTA

by Leigh Anne Starling, HTR In 1986, the original California Chapter was started by Ida Cousino, an occupational therapist at the Vets Garden, located at the Los Angeles Veterans Hospital. After 10 years in Southern California, many successful meetings and membership, the chapter moved up the coast to San Louis Obispo in 1996. Chapter President Derron Dike maintained the chapter during this transition time and started the Chapter tradition of participating in the Annual San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. American Horticultural Therapy Association member Leigh Anne Starling joined the California Chapter during that time to meet other fellow HTs and volunteered to serve as the Northern California representative. In the fall of 1997, a group of individuals gathered in Northern California to discuss horticultural therapy and the feasibility of starting a local chapter in support of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Leigh Anne worked with this group as a representative of the existing chapter at that time. After much discussion, it was decided to form as a local Bay Area chapter of AHTA. AHTA approved the incorporation of the Northern California Chapter under the name People Plant Connection of Northern California. The Northern Chapter held its first board meeting in fall 1998 and its first official chapter meeting in spring 1999. A Chapter newsletter started under the first president, Karen Talbot. As the chapter began to grow and membership expanded, so did the newsletter. Meetings were held at such places as Kainos Home and Training Center, Elkus Youth Ranch, Strybing Arboretum, and Heather Farms. In 2002, the annual meeting was held at Abilities United, then called Community Association for Rehabilitation, located in Palo Alto. In 2002, the chapter membership voted to expand the chapter throughout the state and change the name to the California Chapter of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. It was shortly afterwards that Leigh Anne, president of the People Plant Connection, the northern region, approached Derron Dike, president of the California Chapter, southern region, to merge the two chapters. In the fall of 2003, a meeting was held at Descanso Gardens in Southern California where the two regions voted to merge the treasury accounts and become one state chapter! The chapter had many successful years with shared leadership between the two regions. Under the presidency of Linda Mann, the chapter held successful meetings at Sherman Library and Gardens, the Vets Garden, Descanso Gardens, the Huntington Botanical Gardens, and Gamble Gardens. The newsletter has expanded to become a work of art and information. Membership expanded throughout the state and at one time reached 96 members. The chapter continued to host an exhibit at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show for 10 consistent years. In the present time, with the assistance of president Patty Dunks, the Chapter website was becoming an important means of communication and information. We also held celebrations in honor of the chapter closing, our two great Garden Parties, at Fioli Gardens and Descanso Gardens. Most recently, the American Horticultural Therapy has had to restructures its chapter system forcing many chapters to close. As most of the membership knows, the chapter is closing for now hoping to reopen in the future under a new system in compliance with the American Horticultural Therapy Association. At this time, the most important thing that you can do to support the field of horticultural therapy, is to join AHTA. Without AHTA, there will be no opportunity for horticultural therapist and like-minded individuals to come together and form a chapter. And we do hope to come together again in the near future to share what we have shared with all of you for the past 11 years, the passion for horticultural therapy, the people-plant connection.

Website Information Website Information California Chapter California Chapter WWW.CAAHTA.ORG WWW.CAAHTA.ORG National Organization National Organization WWW.AHTA.ORG WWW.AHTA.ORG

CAAHTAFall/Winter 2008 Page 2

Presidents Message..
Holiday greetings to all of you. This has certainly been a year of change for AHTA, and a challenging one for the board. The decision to close the chapters brought about by changes and restructuring at the national level has required the board to spend many extra hours struggling with what is best for the California Chapter. In spite of that, we have had a busy year. Our first activity this year was making and staffing a booth at the San Francisco Garden Show. Derron Dike did a wonderful job coordinating and organizing the booth. I saw many of you there and we made many new contacts as well. We had two site visits this spring, a Northern California visit to the Pomeroy Center where Robert Negro, Director took us on a tour and explained their fabulous program. Our Southern California site visit was to Sojourn, a womans shelter where we were treated to a meal from the garden and a tour where we got a chance to see the special healing that takes place in the garden. In May, several of us volunteered to do a hort. therapy activity for the Saving Strokes Day, where we connected with many folks who have had a stroke. Our two Garden Parties, held at Descanso and Filoli, we had an opportunity to reconnect and play in the Garden in two spectacular settings. I want to thank our board for all their hard work and dedication over the past year. Linda Mann, past President who mailed our newsletters and organized our Descanso Garden Party, Derron Dike our treasurer, Marlene Javage, our Southern California VP and newsletter editor, Suzanne Redell, our Northern Calif. VP, who organized our site visits, Leigh Anne Starling , our membership chair, and who organized our H.T. activities for both our garden parties, and Deb Ringler, past board member who filled in on our board. I appreciate all your effort extend a thank you on behalf of the California Chapter. At this time of the year, we all look back at all we have to be grateful for and one of those things is the opportunity to be connected with all of you with through horticultural therapy. Even though this chapter is closing, we will be morphing into another form and are hoping to stay together as a networking group. You, our members are the treasured asset. We will be sending out an email with the new web address so that we can stay in touch. It has been my privilege to serve as president of the California Chapter of AHTA this past year. I enjoyed connecting with you this past year and look forward to continuing that connection. Patty Dunks

Interiorplantscaping and HT By Deb Ringler

I have loved plants for as long as I can remem-

Orange Coast College Horticulture Department introduces Horticulture Therapy

The Department of Horticulture at Orange Coast College is introducing Service Orientated Horticulture classes. The trend in horticulture the past 15 years, especially during the personal garden revolution, the expansion of technology and the awareness of our dependency on the health of the planet.has opened a mature door in horticulture. People are indeed in the need of plants for our health and well being. Plants are no longer relegated to just ornament or agriculture, plants are a integral part of our lives on many levels. This awareness has finally broken into the mainstream consciousness...Green has become the preferential option. Horticulture Therapy is no longer just for severe rehabilitation institutions. HT is needed on many levels of healing and growing. Marlene Javage introduced the field of HT to 20 students for 8 weeks at OCC. The class was composed of curious students, individuals desiring to explore new careers and allied professionals wanting to add another tool to their profession. I was moved and motivated by the depth of caring and interest this group of students brought to the classroom. In addition to learning the specific distinctions and needs of a registered HT, the class visited 3 sites; including Long Beach Vets Garden. Descanso Gardens HT program (during the Annual Conference) and St. Clares Garden in Brea (designed for people in recovery). For further information regarding classes in Horticulture at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA see their website:

ber, and being introduced to horticulture in my troubled teen years added glimmers of hope in a very trying time. I started my Interior Landscape business at the age of 19, and I have continued with this passion 29 years later. I was introduced to the field of Horticultural Therapy about 10 years ago, and knowing what an impact it had in my life, I began to ponder how I could incorporate its modality into the field of Interior Landscaping. My opportunity came in 2003 when Marlene Javage asked me to assist her with the installation of interior plants at an Olivecrest facility in Santa Ana. Joining my fellow Interiorscapers with my Hort Therapy friends was an easy fit, and the installation went off flawlessly. My real education began when I was asked to take a teaching role at Olivecrest to train the students to care for the interior plants, and then move forward to create an exterior garden as well. Little did I know the impact that adventure would bring. I got to see first hand the impact that plants made in the students, staff and the facility, not to mention what it did to me. Seeing the quote You make a living by what you do, but you make a life from what you give ( Winston Churchill) encouraged me to take my experience one step further. I went on to become the first chair person for PIA Cares, a branch of the Plantscape Industry Alliance that focuses on impacting the community with acts of volunteerism through interior landscaping. It has given me opportunity to combine my knowledgeable in the Interior Landscape field, with my passion for Horticultural Therapy, and expose my alliances in both fields with the benefits they can be to one another.

http://www.orangecoastcollege.edu/academics/ divisions/math_science/ornamental_horticulture/

CAAHTAFall/Winter 2008 Page 3

Southern California Horticultural Therapy Site

January 1, 2009 My name is Anna Schopp, and I am a Certified Horticultural Therapist. I received my training at Legacy Health System from Teresia Hazen in Portland, Oregon where I earned a 150-hour Certificate as a Therapeutic Horticulture Activity Specialist in 2006. I am employed at Salem Lutheran Home, an Elder Care Alliance Community in Oakland, California. I work with 30 residents with moderate to severe dementia and Alzheimers. Over the last two years, I have developed the Therapeutic Horticulture program by planning and conducting a nature and gardening group on Saturdays. The goals of my group are cognitive stimulation, social interaction, creative expression, and physical exercise. My groups are very popular and attract family members as well. I have planned and implemented special projects for the residents. One group focused on intergenerational gardening with the local first grade class that regularly visits our facility. We planted out native perennials and annuals in a Dedication Planter, which provides a ready reminder to our residents of this lively group of children as well as the pleasure of beautiful flowers. I was also instrumental in the renovation, plant selection and placement for our sensory garden. This is a rooftop container garden that is directly accessible to our residents outside their unit. I carefully researched and selected plants that are safe for our residents, as well as being pleasing to the five senses. There are fragrant and colorful salvias, herbs, geraniums and flowering perennials as well as vines and trees. I was directly involved in the renovation and planting phases of this project. Together, the landscape crew and I planted out 60 different species of new plants. In addition, I have provided ongoing garden maintenance. There is also an accessible table planter with a variety of lettuces, kales, chards, spinach and marigolds planted by our residents. A popular activity with residents and family members is to pick fresh lettuces to feed the pet bunny. We are very fortunate to have the benefit of volunteers once a month, who provide direct companionship and assistance to our residents in the garden group. These volunteers come to us through a non-profit organization called Hands-On-Bay-Area. I also serve the residents of the Nursing Care Center by visiting with the residents on a one-to-one basis. I bring them plant materials, fresh flowers and herbs from the sensory garden and the opportunity to socialize, reminiscence and enjoy something of beauty. The sensory garden is an important resource for the residents and their families as well as the staff of the Terrace Unit. It provides a safe, supportive environment for the residents to exercise, relax and enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and benefits of being in a garden.

CAAHTAFall/Winter 2008 Page 4

Southern California Horticultural Therapy Site

Home Schooling LA Family Housing Corp.
by Laurie Lyles Home schooling on the grounds of LA Family Housing Corp. provides a therapeutic intervention in low income housing apartment complexes. LA Family Housing Corp. is a non-profit 501C3 that provides housing for homeless and low-income families and singles in Los Angeles. They have a main shelter property in N. Hollywood, that houses 500 people, and then have over 30 off site apartment complexes throughout Los Angeles County that house low income populations. The Master Gardeners and I have been doing home schooling at several of their properties since 1998. Organic Gardening affords us the opportunity to engage the residents in activities that they would not normally engage in and communicate with each other to complete tasks in ways that they normally would not be active in. We have encouraged them to use the yard areas adjacent to the apartment complexes as mini-community gardens and have encouraged the families to grow veggies all year long in mini raised beds. The families enjoy this activity and work together to help maintain the garden areas. Families in these facilities, mostly Hispanic and African American often isolate and dont congregate in group activities so this has been a very positive therapeutic way for them to interact with their neighbors, and to better their living environment at the same time. In addition, the children in our classes are getting trained in all types of plant material so that when they go to school and start gardening ,, they will have a big head start on understanding how things grow. We also compost and do worm composting, so the kids have a well-rounded view of what is involved in the garden. Our classes are themed to all the holidays during the year, and the Master Gardeners or nurseries in the area often donate plant material to us. Our kids range in age from 3 15. We also do field trips to neighboring pumpkin patches, community gardens, local public gardens and nurseries. .Gardening provides a therapeutic venue for people to problem solve, communicate, gain knowledge that can be used in many areas of life and get them active in outdoor activities rather than staying indoors in front of a TV. Gardening also encourages healthy eating, and we allow our classes to eat the veggies right in the garden. I heartily recommend this type of schooling for anyone who can start a program in his or her local community.

Annual Conference and Garden Party at Descanso Gardens

Nov 15, 2008

CAAHTAFall/Winter 2008 Page 5

CAAHTA Fall/Winter 2008 page 6

California Chapter American Horticultural Therapy Association 2921 Old San Jose Road Soquel, CA 95073

CAAHTA Newsletter Fall/Winter 2008

Past Board of Directors

PATTY DUNKS * President 831-476-7070

For More Information Contact:

California Chapter AHTA C/O Derron Dike (treasure) PO Box 102, San Luis Obispo CA 93406 Email: derrondike@aol.com

PattyDunks@aol.com SUZANNE REDELL * VP NCA

650-207-7601

name:
address: phone: ......

suzanne@thrivinggardens.com
MARLENE JAVAGE * 714-545-1665

VP SCA Newsletter Editor javagejam@sbcglobal.net DERRON DIKE * Treasurer

805-627-1557

derrondike@aol.com LINDA MANN * PR Chair and Immediate Past President

818-340-6188

email:
............ CAAHTA Newsletter has been published 3 times a year. For questions regarding the development of the new horticulture therapy networking group contact Leigh Anne Starling at. lastarling@peoplepc.com

ljlmann@aol.com Membership Chair

650-525-9984 LEIGH ANNE STARLING, HTR

For more information about Horticulture Therapy contact the National Association:

The American Horticultural Therapy Association - 201 East Main Street, Suite 1405 Lexington, KY 40507
Phone: 859-514-9177 Fax: 859-514-9166 Email: ghorton@AMRms.com web site: www.ahta.org