The New York Botanical Garden offers a rich assortment of individual courses, certificate programs, and on-site events that highlight the important connection between people and the natural world, and the many ways that plants can better our personal wellness and effect positive change. Come learn how you can get closer to your environment, or develop the skills needed to help others whose lives have been affected by illness, injury, disability, and life circumstances.
October 7, 2026; 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Explore how the field of therapeutic horticulture promotes wellness by tapping into the powerful connection between people and plants. Join us for a day of community, learning, and inspiration as you discover how nature-based experiences can be integrated into a wide range of settings—from established healthcare programs serving specific populations to a growing movement on college campuses focused on student well-being.
In 2020, NYBG launched THRIVE (Therapeutic Horticulture and Rehabilitative Interventions for Veteran Engagement) in collaboration with the James J. Peters Veterans Administration Medical Center in the Bronx. Through support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the THRIVE program provides a specially designed combination of horticultural therapy and gardening activities to veterans who are being treated for a wide range of mental and physical health challenges.
NYBG’s Therapeutic Horticulture Certificate Program emerges from a health and wellness model of human development, combined with research supporting nature as an effective therapeutic medium. Learn to create experiences that utilize plants, gardening, and nature to empower individuals and groups whose lives have been affected by illnesses, injuries, disabilities, and life circumstances in order to achieve improvements in their cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Plants are intimately tied to our well-being. Discover new ways to bring healthful botanical influences into your daily life through courses in herbalism, aromatherapy, and healthy practices—each and every season at NYBG.