Gardening and Mental Health with Konnie Vissers

Join us on an extended lunch break to explore gardening and mental health. Konnie Vissers is Founder of "The Children's Garden Collective," which seeks to nurture the growth and development of kids through the practice of sustainable gardening education, food security and equity, and spirituality (broadly speaking). With decades of experience working in the dirt, Konnie explores how gardening promotes mental health, when we connect to the Earth and to one another through awareness-sensing, mystery-sensing, and value-sensing (Hay and Nye*). This in turn helps us cope with the anxieties all around us, particularly in the face of eco-anxiety and climate change.

In this 1.5 hour workshop, we will learn about sustainable and connective gardening practices, participate in three short meditative and exploratory activities, and learn how to better connect to both people and planet through gardening. Since this workshop is online, you can participate from wherever is comfortable. If you are indoors, try to be near a window or a potted plant, or join us from a local park, yard, garden, or even your car—just somewhere you can see plant life.