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PhytoMedicine Outreach Flourishes

North Carolina FCS (Family and Consumer Science) Institutes

North Carolina Extension is an amazing resource that puts research findings into the hands of the public through the programs provided by agents. Family and Consumer Science Agents help consumers gain better access to healthy foods (often from local farmers), learn how to make and store healthy meals, and build healthier lifestyles. FCS agents must keep on top of current research in the topics where they have programs so that they can offer the most up-to-date information to their local consumers. 

The FCS Institutes was a three-day event in Greensboro, NC, where agents learned about new programs and research to pass along in their home counties. I had the honor of presenting the PhytoRx program with the FCS agent from Iredell County, Andrea Sherrill. We helped the agents understand PhytoRx and how they could use the established resources within their counties to create a robust, personalized program.

I also co-presented information on an Anti-Inflammatory Diet with Extension Specialist and researcher, Basheerah Enahora, PhD. She is currently working on a CDC grant to implement comprehensive programming to increase access to healthy food and physical activity in some of the neediest counties in North Carolina.

Therapeutic Horticulture from NC Botanical Garden

Research is showing that mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression, can be treated with a variety of nature-based interventions.5 Along with STEM Education Extension Associate, Amy Bowman, I recently completed a certificate program in Therapeutic Horticulture from the North Carolina Botanical Garden. This eight-month program incorporates plant-based techniques into a practice of helping people become the healthiest version of themselves. 

The course included a hands-on project where we put our TH knowledge into practice. Amy and I delivered weekly programming for 13 weeks at a Senior Living affordable housing complex in Charlotte, NC. We helped 15 seniors build a community garden club using 10 raised beds on the property. Residents learned how to create community within their living space, plan a vegetable garden, choose plants, plant seeds using several methods, cook healthy vegetable recipes, and incorporate mental health into their garden club practices. 

Amy’s Extension programming directly supports school gardens and she will incorporate therapeutic horticulture foundations into training of school garden teachers and volunteers. (Check out her program and resources) While the connection is not as direct with PhytoMedicine, I recognize that the relationship to food is more than simply meeting the body’s needs for nutrients. A tangled web of experience, taste preference, accessibility and emotional responses influence the decisions we make in choosing the food to fuel our bodies. As such, I hope to employ some of these TH techniques as I continue developing programming for PhytoMedicine.

Citations

1. Coventry PA, Brown JE, Pervin J, Brabyn S, Pateman R, Breedvelt J, Gilbody S, Stancliffe R, McEachan R, White PL. Nature-based outdoor activities for mental and physical health: Systematic review and meta-analysisSSM – Population Health. 2021.