
Beyond Barriers: Accessing Nature for People with Disabilities
Friday, July 31, 2020
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EDT
Join NYBG horticultural therapists Phyllis D’Amico and Anne Meore, Garden Educator Brooke Gibbard, and participants from NYBG’s service learning program as they share their experiences of teaching and practicing therapeutic horticulture.
As the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrates its 30th anniversary, we will examine the impact of this important legislation as it relates to creating meaningful access to the natural world and its benefits for people with disabilities. Beyond the elimination of physical barriers, access to nature includes the opportunity and right for individuals to benefit fully from their interactions with nature, plants, gardens, and natural landscapes. “Access” reaches beyond “getting in” and navigating a site safely—it extends to the unique ways in which therapeutic horticulture can provide positive benefits for the body, mind, and spirit.
This virtual event will be closed captioned and include a secondary webpage with live captions in Spanish.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Brooke Gibbard
Brooke Gibbard is Garden Coordinator of the Edible Academy at The New York Botanical Garden. She received a BS in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources from Michigan State University.

Desiree Austin
Desiree Austin is a volunteer at The New York Botanical Garden’s Edible Academy and a participant in The New York Foundling’s Community Pre-vocational Program.

Support for the Humanities Institute provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation