Beekeeping as a therapeutic practice
đCare Farming Network’s 2025 May Monthly Gathering explored the power of animal-assisted interventions with a special focus on therapeutic beekeeping. đ Therapeutic beekeeping has been shown to reduce symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression by encouraging mindfulness, routine, sensory awareness, and connection to living systems. Working with bees also builds confidence, patience, and emotional regulation, […]
How Cows and a Cornfield Help Heal Childhood Trauma
Suzanne Kapral | TEDxScranton Suzanne Kapral is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children (CASA), Big Sister mentor, and Animal Welfare Advocate. Her day job includes developing programs and raising much needed money to best serve vulnerable children and at times, adults. Transformation through trauma and grief is tough, painful, messy, and terrifying. Yet, it […]
What Happens When We Reconnect With Nature
Published by Greater Good Magazine Research is discovering all the different ways that nature benefits our well-being, health, and relationships. By Kristophe Green, Dacher Keltner | March 1, 2017 Humans have long intuited that being in nature is good for the mind and body. From indigenous adolescents completing rites of passage in the wild, to modern East Asian […]
Healing Hives: Exploring the Effects of Beekeeping on Veteran Mental Health and Quality of Life
Abstract Veterans experience higher risks of suicide and mental health disorders due to the traumas of military service, disabilities, and the difficulties of reassimilation into civilian life. Therapeutic interventions using human-animal interactions have shown promising results in reducing many risk factors affecting veteransâ quality of life. This quality improvement project sought to consider if veterans […]
What Are Care Farms?
Author: Dr. John LaPuma What are care farms? Simply put, a care farm involves the therapeutic use of farming practices to facilitate healing. Also known as green care or therapeutic farming, care farming is supervised and structured, providing âfarming-related activities for individuals with a defined need.â These activities include things like animal husbandry (livestock, small animals, poultry), agriculture, horticulture, […]
Care Farmer Panel Discussion at CFN’s National Conference (2025)
At Care Farming Network’s National Conference in 2025, it was an honor to host a panel of care farm participants with lived experience who shared their experiences working on a care farm.
Measuring Success: Program + Outcomes Evaluation for Care Farming
How do you know if your care farming program is truly making a difference? At the 2025 Care Farming Network National Conference, a breakout session guided attendees through the fundamentals of program and outcomes evaluation, assessing whether goals are being met and target populations are benefiting. Presenters explored the key elements of evaluation design, the […]
Measuring the Impact of Care Farming
At the 2025 Care Farming Network National Conference, a facilitated discussion focused on identifying what is needed to effectively demonstrate the impact of care farming. This interactive session crowdsourced ideas and recommendations for researchers on how to enhance their work in support of care farmers and strengthen advocacy efforts for care farming at the national […]
DEEP DIVE with Simple Sparrow Care Farm: Trauma-Informed Care Farming
Research shows that trust-building relationships combined with hands-on activities like care farming can rewire the brain, mind, and body for better outcomes. The Simple Sparrow Care Farm (SSCF) model applies trauma-informed care in all programs and services. This deep dive presentation was hosted by Jamie Tanner from Simple Sparrow Care Farm at the 2025 Care […]
Green fingers and clear minds: prescribing âcare farmingâ for mental illness
© British Journal of General Practice 2016 INTRODUCTION GPs face considerable challenges in accessing effective treatment options for patients with depression and anxiety.1,2 Antidepressant use has been rising steadily since the early 1990s and GPs have been accused of over-prescribing, with approximately 70% of depressed patients in primary care being prescribed antidepressants.3 National Institute for Health and […]