Joanna is a therapeutic horticulture practitioner. She offers personal wellness restoration services through therapeutic plant care and connecting to nature. She creates safe spaces to develop positive mental health coping tools through interactions with plants and nature. She designs custom therapeutic programs and activities based on the needs and abilities of clients and rehabilitative environments. These environments include:
alternative high schools treatment centers for mental health, within safe homes and recovery programs for survivors of human trafficking.
Joanna has worked with clients in Florida and across the country, both in person and virtually, with all ages including teenagers, adults, young adults, and children all with a focus on plants as a therapeutic medium.
Most recent opportunities for collaboration and partnership include local Miami botanic gardens, in which she shares the benefits of therapeutic horticulture for general public participants.
Joanna possesses an unwavering passion for inspiring people to discover or rediscover the natural cycles of nature in order to connect to their own natural mind and body rhythms.
“Everybody possesses an inherent connection to nature. This connection can be a fundamental tool during personal restoration and growth. I’ve witnessed clients experience profound emotional and spiritual growth through discovering the people and plant connection. I believe horticulture and nature interventions can increase quality of life for people regardless of age, ability or background.”
Joanna holds a certificate in horticultural therapy from the Horticultural Therapy Institute at Colorado State University and an interdisciplinary BA in humanities, social sciences, and environmental studies from the University of Central Florida. She is the owner of Restorative Horticultural Therapy and the founder of Horticulture For Healing, a non profit which advocates for horticultural therapy and therapeutic horticulture in under-served and under-represented communities.
Want to learn more about Joanna and her work? Click here to read or listen to a 2023 interview with the University of California CARE community.
