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We
are currently featuring the Hope Therapy
program at Moody Gardens, located in Galveston, Texas.
Growing
Through Horticultural Therapy - Horticultural therapy utilizes
horticultural activities directed by a horticultural therapist to improve
psychological, social, educational or physical adjustment in people.
Plants possess life-enhancing qualities that encourage people to respond
to them At Moody Gardens, the horticultural therapy program is
comprised of vocational and outreach components.
Vocational
- The gardens department employs several people who are physically or
mentally challenged. There are a variety of tasks to be done in the
production greenhouse, and the horticultural therapist matches the task
with the employee who has been trained with the necessary skills to
complete it. The greenhouse is also a site for summer job training
programs for students enrolled in “Life Skills” classes in area high
schools and in a “Youth Opportunities Unlimited” work/study program.
Outreach
- The Moody Gardens horticultural therapy program is also community
involved. In the production greenhouses, the horticultural
therapists work with people enrolled in a senior volunteer program, a
women’s drug and alcohol recovery program, and with a “Life Skills”
class from the community high school. The therapists have helped to
establish community gardens at local senior citizen’s aimed at teaching
aspects of horticulture to people of all ages and capabilities.
Horticulture therapy is for everyone!
If you have
question about the Moody Gardens horticulture therapy program, contact:
Ms. Terry
O’Connell
Moody Gardens Garden Department
1 Hope Blvd
Galveston, Texas 77554
Telephone: (409) 744- 1745 ext. 273
or visit http://www.moodygardens.com/classroom_hopetherapy.html
If you have
questions about horticultural therapy in general, contact:
The American
Horticultural Therapy Association
362A Christopher Avenue
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879
Telephone: (301) 948-3010
If you
have a suggestion for a horticultural therapy program to feature on this page,
just grab the
envelope and send us an e-mail!
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