Green Chimneys is a multi-faceted nonprofit organization helping young people to maximize their full potential by providing residential, educational, clinical and recreational services, in a safe and supportive environment that nurtures connections with their families, the community, animals and nature.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered on a farm and wildlife center in Brewster, NY, with a second campus in Carmel, NY, Green Chimneys is recognized as a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and educational activities for children with special needs. Green Chimneys services include an accredited special education school on two campuses; residential treatment center; nature-based therapeutic programs; community-based support for youth and families; and public education and recreation opportunities for all ages.

Green Chimneys is founded on the philosophy that it is healthy and therapeutic for children to interact with nature and provides a treatment setting in which all interactions with staff and the environment have a potential therapeutic value. We strive to give students every opportunity to be a part of the environment, discover their own special talents, and develop the skills and confidence to grow into independent young adults.

We believe learning takes place both in and out of the classroom, and Green Chimneys School offers an enriched academic environment with a vast array of innovative programming, including life skills, music and art, animal-assisted activities, and outdoor education, all based in experiential learning. We carry out this work in alignment with our Guiding Principles, the blueprint for how we deliver our services and collaborate with each other to do so.

Mission Beelieve provides beekeeping education for Veterans and First Responders. Our mission is to support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of veterans and first responders through the therapeutic and enriching practice of beekeeping. By offering a peaceful and grounding environment for personal growth and connection with nature, through the management of their colonies. We aim to empower and heal those who have served our country and help them transition to a successful and fulfilling civilian life.

We created the foundation with hands-on workshops and seminars, to help veterans/first responders begin to feel some peace, learn a new trade and connect with nature and community while embracing the therapeutic and vocational aspects of beekeeping.

Like the produce we grow, Bittersweet began as a seed—an idea, a vision, a dream. This seed was planted in the minds of Toledo Public School teacher Bettye Ruth Kay, the students with autism in her special education classroom, and their families.

Bettye Ruth had provided an innovative education for her students, incorporating insights from vocational programs and parents homeschooling their children on the autism spectrum. Yet, as her students began to age out of public education in the late 1970s, they were faced with limited and limiting options: institutional settings, life with aging parents, and workshop jobs.

Knowing their remarkable potential, Bettye Ruth could not bear the thought of an unfulfilling life for her students. She searched the world for inspiration and discovered Somerset Court in England. Bettye Ruth visited Somerset Court and there she found fertile soil in which to plant the seed of her vision. She was moved by the breadth of meaningful work on a farmstead (animal care, gardening, art, cooking, and more), the immediate benefits and rewards of these tasks for individuals on the spectrum, and the way that interdependence comes to life in the farmstead setting. Upon returning to Northwest Ohio, Bettye Ruth worked with her students and their families, local business professionals, and community members to found Bittersweet Farms. In 1983, our original location in Whitehouse, Ohio was established as the first farmstead program for adults with autism in the United States and the second in the world. In the decades since, Bittersweet has expanded across Northwest Ohio, opening a second farmstead in Lima in 2005 and a third in Pemberville in 2006.

Today, we provide residential, vocational, transitional, and recreational services to over 100 individuals at these three locations. To this day, many of Bettye Ruth’s students live and work at Bittersweet. Their thriving is the fruit of those early seeds, which continue to yield positive impact in the world as Bittersweet grows.