June 4, 2025
What happens when dementia care meets life on the farm? In this episode of Third Age Design, Lori Pinkerton-Rolet talks with Rebekah Churchyard, founder of Green Care Farms – Canada’s first dementia day program on a working farm. Discover how alpacas, goats, gardening, and the great outdoors bring joy, connection, and a renewed sense of purpose to participants. Rooted in biophilic design and inspired by personal experience, this innovative model is changing lives.
- Guest: Rebekah Churchyard, CEO of Green Care Farms
- Green Care Farms in the Netherlands – Age Platform Europe
- Green Care Farms as Innovative Nursing Homes, Promoting Activities and Social Interaction for People With Dementia – National Library of Medicine
- End-of-life care for people with dementia on a green care farm during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study – BMC Geriatrics
- Innovation Spotlight: Coming soon to the Third Age Design website-The Wellness Interior Design Audit (WIDA)
Read (and translate) the transcript
About Rebekah Churchyard
Rebekah Churchyard, BA, BSW, MSW, RSW, PMP is a Social Worker, Project Manager and Psychotherapist. As a tribute to her grandparents, Rebekah founded Green Care Farms Inc. in 2021 (located in Halton Hills/Milton, Ontario). Her work as CEO of Green Care Farms delivers the first ever nature-based program in Canada for people with dementia on an operational farm. She is committed to changing the landscape of care in Canada by supporting other Canadians to open more care farms. Rebekah also currently works in a direct service role in specialized geriatrics healthcare. Prior to this, while living in Toronto, Rebekah gained extensive volunteer experience in charitable board governance and municipal policy. She served as acting President and Vice-President with the Toronto Council on Aging Board of Directors and as an Accountability Table member with the City of Toronto’s Seniors Strategy. In 2024 Rebekah was nominated and won both the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Woman of the Year award in the Entrepreneur Under 40 category as well as the Ontario Association of Social Worker’s “Inspirational Leader of the Year” award. Now residing in Guelph, Ontario, Rebekah is happily dedicated to serving older adults and making the world a better place to grow old.