Over 30 years in Health, Education and Nature Connection
​
Hello I'm Emma,
I am the lead practitioner at Cultivating Health and have been working with people and plants for most of my life with truly fantastic results.
​
As a Horticultural Therapist I support people to connect to nature through gardening and food growing as part of educational or rehabilitative programmes I have designed. My clinical experience as an Occupational Therapist, working within the N.H.S. for many years, is as foundational to my skill set as my qualifications from the R.H.S and decades enjoying food growing. My background is in special education and design and build. If you would like to know more contact me for my C.V.
​
Fellowships include
HCPC, RCOT, National STH Stakeholders Group, Linnean Society, Landworkers Alliance
I am proudly Neurodiverse
Clients include:
Homerton N.H.S. Trust, The London Mayor's Assembly, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Eden Project, Bristol Botanical Gardens, Chelsea Flower Show, Friends of the Earth, Woodland Trust, Wildlife Trust, The Royal Parks, Sustain, Capital Growth, Regenerous, School Food Matters, Hackney School of Food.
There are also hundreds of smaller education and community clients who are as valued as the esteemed clients listed above.
Every gardener mirrors the diversity and beauty of the different plants that create a garden.
INCLUSION - ORGANIC PRACTISE - SUSTAINABILITY - CO-DESIGN
Benefits of Horticultural Therapy
Physical Health
Gardening tasks can maintain or increase our range of movement, stamina, muscle tone, strength and dexterity.
Mental Health
Participants experience wellness through nature connection and engagement in meaningful activity.
Social Inclusion
Rich social interactions develop through participation in sessions extending into cultural and community connections.
Education
Plant knowledge, skill development, tool use and vocabulary increase through engaging in gardening activities.
Identity
The autonomy and self-actualisation available within gardening tasks develop a positive sense of self.
Healthy Eating
Fruit and vegetable intake improve through increased access to fresh produce.
TESTIMONIALS
School Food Matters is delighted to engage Emma in delivering hands on gardening sessions and training for our gardening team. She is a passionate and charismatic practitioner, who excels at engaging all groups of people from small children to older teenagers. The joy Emma finds in gardening is infectious, which she uses to develop positive relationships with students, teachers and school staff building their confidence to know they can grow fruit and vegetables too. She has excellent plant knowledge and uses all sorts of delightful resources to make gardening sessions fun.
Dela Foster ~ School Food Matters
We have the pleasure of working with Emma, a dedicated practitioner, who developed an accessible gardening provision at our specialist school incorporating ideas from the students, so they were always at the heart of the therapeutic learning. Emma is a very professional therapist and tackled any challenges that came her way with a positive attitude and pro-active communication. She built quality, nurturing relationships using a therapeutic approach that proved an excellent fit for our harder to reach students.
Emma connected with parents and carers through her ‘Stay and Grow’ sessions, working closely with our Multidisciplinary Team and the wider gardening community to connect us to opportunities. Emma worked tirelessly to ensure that her provision was holistic and the best fit for our school's unique needs, resulting in her sessions being fun, engaging and beneficial for all.
Allison Holness - SENCO