A reflection on our past, a glimpse into the future.

Submitted by: Derrick Stowell, AHTA Immediate Past President

In October 1967, Rhea R. McCandliss gave a talk at the professional staff meeting of Menninger Memorial Hospital located at the time in Topeka, KS. Rhea was instrumental in the development of the horticultural therapy profession. She was instrumental in the founding of the National Council for Therapy and Rehabilitation through Horticulture in 1973, now called the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA). She also conducted a valuable national study of hospitals using horticulture as therapy 1968 (Relf, 2019). Over the years the AHTA has collected publications and writings of those in the profession. I recently read McCandliss’ essay, I felt that the words spoken in 1967 are still important for our profession today. One statement in this speech clarified the difference between simply gardening and horticultural therapy:

World Therapeutic Horticulture Day

Thanks to the efforts of a collaboration of international organizations focused on horticulture as therapy, the inaugural World Therapeutic Horticulture Day will be held on May 18, 2023. Thank you to Fiona Thackeray from Trellis Scotland for taking the leadership on this project.

It is our goal to raise awareness about the therapeutic benefits of horticulture throughout the world. It is our hope that this day will continue to grow in the years to come. Be sure to tag AHTA in any of your social media posts for this day!

Important AHTA Updates

Internships

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the AHTA made some adjustments to our internship requirements. These included extending the time for students to complete internships that were affected by the pandemic.

Internship Extension