033, Heather Kelejian: Transformation Through Horticulture Therapy

Soul Soil: Where Agriculture and Spirit Intersect with Brooke Kornegay

How do you feel when you get out in nature? What happens to your mental state when you spend some time in your garden? Today we chat with Heather Kelejian about her role as Executive Director of the Ability Garden, a place where horticulture therapy is available to a number of populations for the purpose of supporting the healing of emotional wounds, motor skill development, sensory stimulation, improving social interactions, navigating life changes and trauma, and connection with nature. Heather is a North Carolina native, growing up in Chapel Hill and Charlotte who has called Wilmington home for 23 years. A love of plants and being outside came from a childhood spent with her Grandmother, who had a bountiful garden every year. Heather has an English degree from UNC – Chapel Hill and has pursued graduate studies in both Gerontology and Public Administration. She has worked with the Ability Garden since 2003, initially as a Master Gardener Volunteer, a Horticultural Therapy Intern and Program Director, and eventually as Executive Director. Heather is a member of the Coastal Compost Council, the Carolinas Horticultural Therapy Network, and the Voyage and Wellness Committee. Her passion is finding ways to bring people and plants together.

In This Episode… Heather’s path to horticulture therapy The populations she serves and skills they foster through the Ability Garden—socialization, vocational experience, nutrition and water quality education, fostering connections, learning how to nurture a living being Working with students flagged for behavior issues Using garden tasks as metaphors for life Addressing grief, instilling a sense of accomplishment and ownership Gardens to bring community members together and help establish a group identity Bringing all the senses into the garden, using the garden space for physical therapy patients Exposing urban individuals to nature; addressing fears of dirt, bugs, snakes, etc Importance of observing the inherently abundant nature of a natural system

Resources

• https://abilitygarden.org/

• https://therapeutic-hort.ces.ncsu.edu/

• Walt Whitman

• Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age by Anne Goldgar

• The Overstory by Richard Powers

• Soul Soil Podcast Patreon Page

• Soul Soil Grow and Glow package