For the past two years, NCBG's Therapeutic Horticulture Program Manager, Emilee Weaver and her colleagues from the non-profit, Partnerships for Nature have been building relationships and supporting Ukraine's quest to utilize plant and nature-based programming as a healing intervention for those affected by the ongoing war with Russia. After providing extensive, free virtual therapeutic horticulture (TH) training, online TH certificate program scholarships (in partnership with the NC State Extension Gardener program), and consultation for five botanical gardens in Ukraine and the largest botanical garden in Armenia, Emilee embarked on a whirlwind, 14-day trip to Armenia and the Poland/Ukraine border in October 2024.

Join us for a virtual tour of this unprecedented trip and learn how our Armenian and Ukrainian partners have leveraged their TH training to create inspiring TH programs that are now serving their communities who have been deeply affected by war, trauma, and displacement. Walk with Emilee through the first sensory healing garden built in Poland, the first two therapeutic gardens created in Armenia, and discover how Ukraine has resiliently kept their rich botanical gardens, cultural legacy, and hope alive in the face of profound adversity.