When starting a care farm–or considering a new organizational strategy–learning how others have navigated challenges and stewarded organizational growth can inspire fresh ideas.

Amy Grace, LMFT of Imagine That Farm has generously shared a detailed organizational timeline with our network. Amy writes: “From the start, collaboration was central. As program strategist, [I] built systems, partnerships, and curricula designed to grow beyond one farm and reach regional scale.”

Walk with Amy from 2019 to 2025 through building a partnership with Children’s Home Counseling Services; creating a replicable approach to integrating new therapists into care farm settings; and building a multi-farm regional network.

View the Timeline Here.

About Imagine That Farm

Imagine That Farm connects mental health agencies and farms to create care farm therapy. We partner with professionals and organizations to integrate nature- and animal-assisted therapies into their work, providing expert guidance to launch care farms and foster meaningful collaborations.

Our trainings blend hands-on, nature-informed methods with clinical expertise, equipping practitioners to deliver deeply connected, life-changing care. Whether you’re building a new care farm or expanding an existing practice, we guide you every step of the way.

Learn more about Amy Grace, LMFT and Imagine that farm on their website.

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Gould Farm’s Psychosis Care and Connection Retreat was created to gather voices that challenge conventional thinking and offer fresh paths forward—paths that embrace compassion, creativity, curiosity, and connection.

This year’s presenters brought a beautiful range of perspectives—from clinical innovation to lived and cultural insight, from psychoanalytic depth to contemplative wisdom. Each talk is an invitation to think differently, to feel more deeply, and to accompany those navigating psychosis with greater courage and humility.

These talks are freely available and intended to serve anyone who cares for, supports, or lives with the experience of psychosis.

Featured Talks:

1. “Relationships Between Early Life Trauma and Psychosis in Adolescents and Young Adults” with Michael Garrett, MD
2. “Shame and Stigma in the Psychotherapy for Psychosis” with Jeremy Ridenour
3. “‘Crazy’ Wisdom: Working with Clinical Challenges Through the Lens of Buddhist Psychology” with Phoebe Walker, LMHC
4. Understanding the Dialogue in Open Dialogue: Recognition and the Struggle to be Heard” with Ross Ellenhorn, MSW, PhD
5. “A Generative Unease: Thinking Psychosis with Queer Theories” with Brett Thatcher, LICSW

The post Psychosis Care and Connection Retreat at Gould Farm: 2025 Recordings appeared first on Care Farming Network.

Green Care Farms is Canada’s first care farm specifically designed for people living with dementia. Located on a half-acre plot within a functioning farm in Milton, Ontario, the program offers participants a range of purposeful nature-based outdoor activities – including planting, watering, and harvesting fresh produce. Importantly, the program provides valuable respite to care partners and families.

The program activities are largely held in our Sensory Garden, a therapeutic space intentionally designed to stimulate all five senses. Here, members grow food for themselves, their families, and their communities. The garden’s layout is designed with accessibility in mind, with garden beds at varying heights, and plenty of benches and places to rest.

Being surrounded by nature and engaging in horticultural activities has many benefits for people living with dementia. These include increased physical activity, improved mood and sleep, stimulation of kinesthetic memory, and a reduction in common symptoms like agitation and anxiety.

For the last two years, Green Care Farms has focused on expanding the care farming model in Canada by offering educational courses and consulting services to aspiring care farmers. Since then, Green Care Farms has assisted in the opening of five care farms, with many more aspiring care farmers on their way!

The vision is to have a Green Care Farms for people with dementia in every community in Canada. To learn more about Green Care Farms, visit their website!

Green Care Farms want to help as many aspiring care farmers as possible. If you’re interested in taking their ‘How to Start a Care Farm’ course, visit How To Start A Care Farm.

Green Care Farms also offers consulting services to start your own care farm, please get in touch with us at hello@carefarmscanada.com (they will work with your budget!).

Summary Slides-Care Farming Network Website_July 2025Download

Green Care Farms Video

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Click to view slide presentation

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The post DEEP DIVE with Gould Farm: A Therapeutic Community that Promotes Recovery for People with Mental Health + Related Challenges appeared first on Care Farming Network.

Presenters included:

Jenny Brongo of Homesteads for Hope (NY)

Alethea Vasilas of Orkestei Farm (NY)

Click to view slide presentations:

Homestead for Hope

Orkestai Farm

The post Exploring Community Care Farm Models: Structures, Opportunities, and Challenges appeared first on Care Farming Network.

The discussion featured inspiring presentations from two care farmers working/living in life-sharing communities:

Brian Chambers of Farmsteads of New England (NH)

Shannon Kulig of Community Homestead (WI)

Link to Presentations:

Farmsteads of NE

Community Homestead

The post Residential Housing & Life-Sharing Communities on Care Farms appeared first on Care Farming Network.

• Rebecca Sorensen of Blawesome (NC)
• Shelley Blades of Lynchburg Grows (VA)
• Isabel Londono, Beth Karcher, and Danielle Moore of Smiles Farm (NY)

Each speaker shared a unique perspective on their care farm model, offering valuable insights into the operations, successes, and challenges they’ve encountered in building inclusive and impactful farms. Their approaches create opportunities for individuals with disabilities by combining sustainable practices with personalized support, ensuring that everyone involved feels empowered and valued. Highlights include creative farming practices, community partnerships, and the impact of their work on growers’ lives.

Click To View Slide Presentations:

Blawesome

Lynchburg Grows

Smile Farms

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