It was an honor for the Hortus Medicus team members to meet Teresia Hazen, horticultural therapy expert from the USA in April 2025 in Wien. Teresia was officially invited by the University College of Agricultural and Environmental Education to give an online lecture for interested professionals and students. Hortus Medicus project members from Diversity Foundation and the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences were also present at the event.
Teresia Hazen, MEd, HTR, QMHP shared experiences from her 30-years as Program Coordinator for Therapeutic Gardens at Legacy Health and her engagement as a leader in AHTA since 1993. She reviewed the foundations of horticultural therapy and therapeutic horticulture through an overview of the profession: disability groups, program tools, materials and techniques, program management, horticulture skills sets for this professional work. Teresia also explained the higher education structure of the horticultural therapy profession in the United States. As she depicted her professional experience in hospitals, it was also very interesting to see how horticultural therapy can improve the patient, family and staff experience, health outcomes and the overall value for all stakeholders and the organization.