This summer, Warren Wilson College expanded its commitment to care farming by offering two programs through the college’s Center for Working Lands. The first program, “Green Care with Veterans,” was a six-week therapy group for justice-involved veterans. The second was a one-day course, “Green Care Theory and Practice,” geared towards clinical social workers and others interested in the impact of the natural environment on human wellness. Both programs brought community members to our beautiful campus in the Swannanoa Valley.
In “Green Care with Veterans,” Warren Wilson partnered with members of the Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court. Participants in this group took part in 2-hour weekly sessions framed by group goals of increasing mindfulness skills, reducing emotional reactivity, and expanding recovery capital. Each week, participants would meet for an initial discussion and then participate in approximately 45 minutes of planned, garden-based activities. Weekly sessions ended with individual and group reflection time, as well as a locally-sourced lunch, provided by our wonderful community partner, Equal Plates Project.
Social workers and other helping professionals gathered on campus in mid-July to learn more about “Green Care: Theory & Practice.” This session, which combined attention to theories related to green care and care farming with current research and example activities, earned six contact hours of continuing education for clinical social workers, including one devoted to ethics. A series of greenhouse-based activities were included throughout the day, ending with participants potting up plants for “Houseplants for Happiness,” a program providing healthy and hearty houseplants to people in permanent supportive housing.
Looking forward, Warren Wilson plans to continue supporting green care and care farming within higher education. In the spring of 2025, the second iteration of “Growing Resilience: Care Farming in the Netherlands” will take place. This semester-long course for undergraduate students from any major culminates in a two-week study abroad component, including one week of working on a care farm in the Netherlands.
If you would like to connect with Warren Wilson or have questions about these or other programs, please contact Sarah Himmelheber at shimmelheber@warren-wilson.edu or reach out to the Center for Working Lands.