About me
The mission of the University of Florida’s Therapeutic Horticulture Program at Wilmot Botanical Gardens is to improve lives through engaging with plants and nature. The program is situated at the nexus of the gardens’ commitment to patient care, education, and research, drawing on key partnerships with University of Florida (UF) academic departments, UF clinics, and the Gainesville community. Since its inception, the program has served a variety of populations with special needs through programming and research, and both are conducted on site to explore the breadth and efficacy of therapeutic horticulture (TH).
Since 2014, the TH program has served a variety of vulnerable populations with special needs. In addition to educating participants on various aspects of plant care and propagation, activities are designed to maintain or improve physical, cognitive, psychological, and/or social function through meaningful and motivating horticulture interactions. Within a greenhouse and garden environment the program seeks to promote many therapeutic benefits such as reducing stress and mental fatigue, increasing social interaction, sensory stimulation, and exercise, boosting self-esteem and self-efficacy , and facilitating the development of coping and compensatory strategies. In many groups, program participation is also extended to care partners.
Elizabeth (Leah) Diehl, RLA, HTM is Director of Therapeutic Horticulture at Wilmot Botanical Gardens and Lecturer in the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida. She is a licensed landscape architect, master gardener, and professionally registered horticultural therapist. She manages and teaches an undergraduate certificate program in horticultural therapy at UF, conducts research, and runs therapeutic horticulture programming for diverse populations, where she coordinates clients, students, and volunteers. Her current research projects are exploring the effects of a structured therapeutic horticulture program on student stress and anxiety and also on individuals with Parkinson’s Disease and their care partners. Leah serves as a consultant and instructor with the National Parks Board and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, both in Singapore. She began her work in horticultural therapy in Chicago in 1993, and has given lectures, workshops, and trainings on horticultural therapy, healing gardens, and related topics throughout the U.S. and abroad.