New network aims to expand emotional support care farms in the U.S.

Published November 6, 2023 at 7:25 AM EST

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The Red Wiggler Community Farm in Germantown, Md. allows people with and without developmental disabilities to engage in farm-based activities like picking crops. (Courtesy of Woody Woodroof)

Care farms are agricultural farms that help people address mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and grief. They’re popular in the Netherlands and around Europe.

A new national care farming network hopes to provide mentorship and expand the number of care farms in the U.S.

Side Effects Public Media’s Elizabeth Gabriel reports.

Jesse Zilberstein and her family have taken annual trips to the Selah Carefarm for the past seven years since the death of her youngest son, Gidi. (Courtesy of Oren Zilberstein)

Oren and Zeve Zilberstein pet horses at the Selah Carefarm near Sedona, Ariz. The death of their brother, Gidi, has been something they’ve constantly processed over the past seven years. (Courtesy of Jesse Zilberstein)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.