Volunteer Spotlight: Sara Riegler

In March 2016,  The New Garden Society welcomed Sara Riegler as a volunteer horticulture educator to share her extensive experience and knowledge in sustainable agriculture with our students. Learn more about what motivates Sara to give time to The New Garden Society.

Why do you give your time to The New Garden Society? How did you get involved?

I got involved with TNGS because I am passionate about agricultural work being used as a tool for both physical and mental healing and wellness, connecting a person to their own body and mind, as well as to their greater community. Working with plants has been such a force for good in my own life and I want to share this work with people who may not otherwise come across it. I am passionate also about the vocational training side of this work, and about providing people with adequate training in horticultural skills to give them the option of working in this field - in the case of the prison population, upon their release.

What do you do as a volunteer with The New Garden Society?

I spend an average of two days per month working with the participants at the Bridgewater State Hospital gardening program. They have quite a large garden, with a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and some fruit, and I assist them in tending to it. The garden is lead by the participants, and I am there to answer their questions and guide them in their work if they are uncertain of what to do or how to do it.

What do you look forward to when you volunteer?

I really look forward to relating with the participants. I love to hear their perspective on the garden, the plants, and on life in general. Our life experiences have been so different up until this point, and I so appreciate the ways in which the plants give us common ground -- we can all experience how incredibly delicious a fresh-picked strawberry is! I love seeing how invested they are in the garden and the ways in which it brings them joy, connects them with their pasts, and allows them to be fully present, in the sunshine (or rain...or snow…).

What have you gained from your volunteer experience?

I have gained a new perspective on prison populations and the value of creating and cultivating healthy, life-giving spaces for inmates. I have loved getting to know the inmates and working together to create something beautiful within the prison.

Horticultural therapy: What is it and Why is it Important?

By Matt DelSesto

While many people have experienced the healing qualities of gardening throughout human history, today there is a growing movement to purposefully harness the power of people-plant interactions— especially in the field of horticultural therapy.  As an organization that provides therapeutic and vocational horticulture training to our incarcerated neighbors, The New Garden Society is inspired by methods and best practices of the horticultural therapy profession.

Horticultural therapy (related to the fields of eco-therapy and green care) is a process that engages a client in horticultural activities, facilitated by a trained therapist, to achieve specific and documented treatment goals.  In an era of rapid urbanization and social fragmentation, horticultural therapy offers innovative pathways for personal and social transformation— through promoting ongoing personal development of clients and increasing effectiveness of institutions that care for sick, aging, vulnerable, or marginalized people in society.  

Horticultural therapy as a profession is typically distinguished from the more general practice of designing therapeutic gardens or horticultural spaces.  Landscape architects and horticulturalists seek to work with the healing or restorative power of plants for specific sites, but horticultural therapy is the daily work of creating treatment objectives and innovative programing for a specific population, institution, or client.  

As a professional practice, horticultural therapy happens in a number of settings including psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes or assisted living facilities, group homes, day treatment programs, physical rehabilitation centers, vocational and recreational programs for visually or hearing impaired persons, addiction recovery programs, and correctional facilities.  

In horticultural therapy practice, a therapist co-designs (with input from other members of treatment team and/or the client) treatment plans to meet the needs of a client.  Treatment goals or outcomes might include development in cognitive, psychological, social, and physical capacities—and typically include institutional collaborations or interventions.  Horticultural activities are planned for an individual or group to meet specific treatment goals or outcomes and could include digging, weeding, transplanting, landscape design and construction, seeding, harvesting, watering, food preparation, or making horticultural products. Central to all horticultural therapy activities is the evolving needs of program participants.   

One good resource for further exploring horticultural therapy is the American Horticultural Therapy Association(AHTA)—the only national organization committed to developing the theory, research, and practice of horticultural therapy in the United States.  While the organization was founded in 1973, today AHTA defines and encourages pursuit of outstanding standards of practice, disseminates critical knowledge to diverse audiences, and promotes excellence in clinical, professional, educational, and research achievement.

Matt is currently in the Sociology doctoral program at Boston College and is a horticultural therapist.  He previously studied horticultural therapy at The New York Botanical Garden and interned with the Horticultural Society of New York's GreenHouse program at Rikers Island correctional facilities in New York City.   Matt joined The New Garden Society’s board of directors in May of 2016.

Introducing our Board of Directors...

In the Spring of 2016, The New Garden Society elected a Board of Directors. This big step forward will increase organizational capacity to meet our big vision of expanding our incarcerated neighbors access to gardens, greenhouse and horticulture training in Greater Boston. Let’s introduce the generous Board Members who move the mission forward...

Mental Health Specialists

To help us develop trainings which emphasize the therapeutic benefits of working in the garden, TNGS is guided by three mental health specialists from different sectors.  Kristina Marcus is a mental health counselor from Germany who currently works at a psychiatric group home in Brighton.  Her holistic view on well-being and expertise in clinical and community psychology has guided her in creating trainings for our Volunteer Horticulture Educators.  Rob Fettig, a former clinical social worker in the Department of Mental Health and passionate gardener has solicited generous donations of plants, seed potatoes and seed for our prison gardens. Rob was referred to us by our allies at The Food Project. Brandy Henry, a clinical social worker, is currently a PhD candidate in Social Policy with a focus on the intersection of criminal justice and mental health policy.  We met Brandy at SCATV’s panel discussion on mental health in the prison system.  Brandy’s background and expertise are key as we develop evaluation tools to measure the TNGS’ impact.  

Horticulture Education Specialists

With a background in Plant and Soil Science, Sarah Ard is currently pursuing a Masters in Occupational Education, while working at Minuteman, teaching vocational horticulture to grades 9-12.  Sarah mentors TNGS on curriculum development and lesson planning related to horticultural vocational training.  Sarah has lent her expertise to this work since our early days meeting at Roxbury Community College. Andrew Balon , an arborist and horticulturalist serving the greater Boston area, brings over 18 years of experience in agriculture and horticulture. In addition to sharing his green industry credentials as a guest presenter, Andrew has generously brought truckloads of essential mulch to TNGS prison gardens.   Hadas Yanay, a horticulture educator and former program coordinator at an Ecological-Education farm in Israel, brings her interest in finding ways to engage students from all backgrounds with the natural environment, to TNGS’ lesson planning process.

Legal Specialist

Christopher Logue ’s passion for prison reform and social justice brought him to TNGS, where he steers the organization’s legal decision making. He currently works in legal services where he advises and trains non-profits in legal, management, and financial matters.

TNGS is grateful to work alongside these bright, talented, generous individuals.