Many people are drawn to work in Therapeutic horticulture which is essentially using gardening to help people improve their wellbeing. It is a fast-growing sector,
and a fascinating and endlessly rewarding line of work, with around 500 groups across Scotland, connected by Trellis, the charity for therapeutic gardening. Although people have appreciated the health benefits of gardening for centuries, the profession in its modern form is only just emerging.
While you need horticulture skills, knowledge of health and care principles and practice are also important, and though many pick up this training on the job, a new Professional Development Award for practitioners is in development which will cover both gardening and healthcare skills. Therapeutic gardening practitioners work in care homes, hospitals, day centres, schools including Additional Support Needs Units, rehabilitation centres and community gardens. You need an understanding of accessible garden design and to have a creative approach towards adapting traditional tools and techniques to suit people’s individual health needs. Most of all though, you need to be someone who enjoys working with people to help them get maximum benefit from their gardening!
I still can't quite believe I've grown my perfect career, full of opportunities to support a diverse range of people, project partners and places, through designing, developing and managing social and therapeutic gardens and programmes. If you want a career that enables you to help people connect more deeply to nature, each other and themselves, therapeutic gardening is a fabulous choice.