News updated: 23 February 2026

On January 13, 2026, a remarkable new initiative was launched by Ukraine’s botanic gardens: staff members from four gardens trained in therapeutic horticulture (TH) started an online course to introduce others to the principles and practices of TH. The initiative, supported by Partnerships for Nature, a US non-profit that collaborates with Ukraine’s botanic gardens, is all the more remarkable as it took place during the ongoing war with Russia, which has brought constant electricity and heating outages over this bitterly cold winter in Ukraine.

The four instructors of the course, Tetiana Sobko (Kryvyi Rih), Asia Holokoz (Odesa), Alla Gnatiuk (Kyiv), and Myroslava Helesh (Lviv), had been trained through the North Carolina Botanical Garden online TH course curriculum, with guidance from Emilee Weaver, then the manager of NCBG’s TH program (now the Director of Learning and Community Engagement at Root in Nature). In June of 2025 all four, along with six others, received TH certificates from NCBG (see the previous BGCI article about this). By then all 10 had been running pilot TH programs in their gardens for over a year, serving displaced families, the elderly, veterans, and others experiencing the stress and trauma of war. Feedback from program participants was overwhelmingly positive.

Still, it’s a big leap to go from study and running pilot programs to teaching others. “I must admit, I was initially filled with doubt” recalls Myroslava Helesh. “Was our expertise sufficient, and could we provide the value our participants expected?” Myroslava and her fellow instructors soon had the answer in the form of reactions from the 20 course participants, which include staff from botanical gardens and other organisations such as hospitals and schools serving vulnerable populations across Ukraine. A typical comment came from a participant early in the course: “Thank you for the incredible journey along the paths of the Kryvyi Rih Botanic Garden. So many forms of work, such a diverse audience!!! And all this – almost on a volunteer basis! You are incredible!” Another enthusiastically wrote “Thank you! Interesting ideas with figures from natural materials, drawing with leaves, creating houses for insects, interpretation cards for adults.”

Some class sessions have had to be rescheduled owing to electricity outages, and some participants have missed “live” classes and had to watch recordings to stay up with the curriculum. But despite everything, all participants have stuck with the course. They will be working on a final project, and if successful will receive certificates at a ceremony on March 3 led by the instructors and Emilee Weaver.

Stay tuned for a future update about this remarkable initiative, including plans to further develop TH in Ukraine!

Tony Allison, Board President and Co-Founder, Partnerships for Nature