UF Student Therapeutic Horticulture Program
The UF Student Therapeutic Horticulture Program serves current UF students struggling with stress, anxiety, loneliness and other mental and emotional hardships. We partner with the UF Counseling & Wellness Center (CWC) to teach students wellness strategies and horticulture skills, build community, and grow an active connection to plants and nature. Each week, students learn the basics of horticulture and plant care, discuss and practice a wellness strategy led by a psychologist from the CWC, and take part in a paired therapeutic horticulture-based activity to foster long-term wellness through interaction with plants and nature.
This program is offered at no cost to students due to our partners, Costa Farms, the Bonnie Foundation, and the UF Strategic Funding Initiative, as well as grant funding and individual donors. Weekly attendance is strongly encouraged, as our research has shown that regular participation increases the many benefits of the program.
While this programming is part of a larger research study on the effects of therapeutic horticulture programming on student well-being and academic resilience, research participation is not required to be in the program.
Students who are interested should register using the FORM BELOW and receive a confirmation email from our team prior to attending.
We continue registering students throughout the semester based on new/open spots, and encourage students to add themselves to our waitlist - we often have spots open up during the semester!
While we try to accommodate as many schedules as we can, sometimes the times don’t quite line up - don’t worry! By completing the form and choosing the “None of these times work for me this semester, but I’m interested!” will add you to our notification list for the next semester’s session days/times and give you the opportunity to join our research’s control group until you can join us in-person!
Questions? Email THPInfo@ifas.ufl.edu!