NGB to Offer $5,000 in Grants to Therapeutic Gardens
This fall the National Garden Bureau will grant $5,000 to be split among three therapeutic gardens in North America.
After fundraising for a vocational therapeutic garden in Chicago in 2014 then granting thousands of dollars to three therapeutic gardens in 2015, the National Garden Bureau (NGB) is again supporting gardens that promote the health and healing powers of human interaction with plants. Beginning in May, NGB will begin accepting applications from therapeutic gardens that meet the following set of criteria:
- Have a defined program using the garden to further particular goals for participants lead by a qualified leader. Examples include horticultural therapy, occupational, physical, vocational or rehabilitation therapy in a garden setting or using gardening to promote positive social relationships within a community.
- Offer a nature experience/interface for population served, including, but not limited to veterans, special-needs children or young adults, the elderly and/or those recuperating from specific injuries or addictions.
- Be used for job-training, skill-building, or food growing for at-risk youth, veterans, or the elderly.
- Involve a large number of gardeners, clients, patients, visitors or students on a monthly basis.
From all the applications received, a group of horticulture therapy experts will narrow all applications down to three finalists. Those three finalists will then be asked to submit a one-minute video that will be posted on www.ngb.org.
All involved parties will solicit feedback from the public, using social media, to vote on the garden they wish to receive the grants. The top vote-getter will receive $3,000, second and third place will receive $1,000 each.
To apply, therapeutic garden applicants should determine that they meet the criteria as outlined in this downloadable document and then complete this application and submit it to the NGB office by the deadline of July 1, 2016.
For more information, visit www.ngb.org.
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