Therapeutic Horticulture Group seeks students to ‘get hands dirty’ in name of stress relief, community service

September 3, 2025
Limited spots are available for URI's Therapeutic Horticulture Group, which begins Sept. 15. Apply today!
Limited spots are available for URI's Therapeutic Horticulture Group, which begins Sept. 15. Apply today!

Students will design a therapeutic garden on campus while learning healing benefits of working with and in nature

The University of Rhode Island continues to expand the College of Pharmacy’s Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden outside Avedisian Hall, converting an unused parking lot into an expansion of the green space, and establishing a database to catalogue the 1,200-plus plants in the botanical collections.

URI students now have a chance to help further that expansion around the Kingston Campus by designing a therapeutic garden while experiencing the healing benefits of growing ornamental plants, flowers and herbs as part of the URI Therapeutic Horticulture Group, a collaboration between the College of Pharmacy and the URI Counseling Center.

The horticulture group invites participants to explore the healing power of nature through mindfulness activities, gardening, and the design of a healing garden over eight weeks during the fall semester. The program is hosted by psychologist and URI Master Gardener Warren Schwartz, and Elizabeth Leibovitz, coordinator of the medicinal garden and greenhouses outside Avedisian Hall.

“This will give students the chance to reduce stress through a hands-on activity and meet other students with similar interests, while performing a service for the URI community,” Leibovitz said. “There’s nothing quite like getting your hands dirty in the garden. It’s not therapy, exactly, but it is therapeutic.”

In addition to learning about various plants and herbs in the garden and engaging in stress-relieving exercises, the group will give back by refurbishing a space on campus to create a healing garden for the community. Participants will do the collaborative work of creating a vision for the space, and bringing it to completion.

The Therapeutic Horticulture Group, which meets on Mondays, 3-4:30 p.m., from Sept. 15 through Nov. 3, is limited in numbers, and prospective members are asked to commit to all eight 90-minute sessions throughout the semester. The group, which is open to all URI undergrad and graduate students, will meet in the newly converted green space outside Avedisian Hall designed by the URI Lands and Grounds crew. Anyone interested in joining is asked to fill out a short application here.