Looking for a way to take going green to a new level? Try horticultural education. Botanical gardens all over the US have taken plant education to a new standard, offering first-hand experience and instruction for anyone who wants to contribute to maintaining an environmentally sound planet right in a classroom or home garden. From botanical therapy to teacher education, these gardens are helping to cultivate the population’s green thumb.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers a variety of programs that encourage education and DIY environmental preservation: get your pruner certification, care for street trees, or complete a composting course. They even offer internships for teachers who want to know more about plant education so that they can bring their new-found knowledge to the classroom.

In total, the Continuing Education division at the Garden offers up to 175 classes each year, in addition to workshops, lectures, trips, and tours for adults. They range in price per class, varying from the high-end budget to a lower, more manageable rate.

“We have a varied group [participating in the workshops] that ranges in age and profession,” said Katherine Lemcke, director of Continuing Education. “Our Certificate in Horticulture courses tend to draw those with professional goals as well as casual students who want to know more about horticulture and plant science.”

Similarly, their Floral Certificate courses have a diverse range of the population. Both certificates give the student an opportunity to take their interest in horticultural industries or floral design further through a series of requisite classes.

As for non-certificate courses and electives, “students range all ages - from fresh out of college to mid-career, to full time parents, to retirees. People come to BBG from all walks of life.”

Brooklyn Botanic Garden stresses the need for education for the entire population, not just the children in our community. “Plants are important to all humans, and we find that everyone has the capacity and motivation to learn about plants in one way or another,” Lemcke said. “Our goal is to share the love of plants, nature and horticulture with everyone.”

Though the Botanic Garden has a strong focus on plant education, the staff incorporates many other types of classes into their summer and year round curriculum. From watercolor painting and botanical illustration to tai chi and botanical jewelry, this garden in Brooklyn doesn’t lack for variety. Debuting in August, the new workshop Chickenomics will teach how to raise chickens in the city.

“Growing one’s own food is a hot topic right now,” said Lemcke, discussing one of the garden’s more popular classes. “Last term, two sections of ‘Growing Edibles in Small Spaces’ filled with waiting lists almost immediately.”

In the Midwest, the Chicago Botanic Garden is doing similar things with their plant program. They take their education to a different level with a Horticultural Therapy Program that is accessible for all ages with the aim of promoting “health and healing through gardening”. Similar to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, they also diversify their subject range of classes by offering culinary workshops that incorporate herbs and fruits into cooking and even a class that enables you to make your own gourd.

Horticultural Therapy is defined as the use of professionally-directed plant, garden, and nature activities to help restore physical and mental health. It can reduce pain as well as improve memory and interaction with people. Since 1976, this program has been serving the disabled and those recovering from illness, using easily accessible features like raised garden beds and hanging plants. The featured Buehler Enabling Garden uses hands on exhibits, walking tours, and “plants that stimulate the senses”.

Chicago Botanic Garden has helped more than 150 facilities incorporate horticultural programs into treatment plans and has even worked with the famed Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Chicago.

“The garden’s education departments strive to reach out to a wide audience about the importance of plants, science, beauty of botanical art and more,” said Julie McCaffrey, Senior Media Relations Specialist at the garden. She cites botany, botanical watercolor and photography as some of their most popular classes.

She also stressed the need for a better botanical future through learning: “Our [main] component is adult education; we are educating the mothers, fathers and grandparents with the idea that they will set good examples and foster a love of plants and the natural world to the next generation.”

Some of their newer class offerings include “Awareness and Nature Retreat”, which incorporates yoga and relaxation, and “The Rise of the Green Building and Fall of the Spurb”, where author and researcher John Wasik discusses what set off the housing crisis and how we can revive communities through green building and development.

All over the US, botanic gardens are working to educate various components of the public to secure a better future for the inhabitants of the world. No matter what class you choose to take, one thing seems certain: you are contributing to a greener planet and learning conservation skills that will be invaluable in the future. Now, the question is: which class will you take?