The Nature Clinic was born out of lived experience.

After years of navigating trauma and traditional talk therapy, our founder came to a realization: true healing requires more than words. It requires connection to the body, to the land, to community, and, most importantly, to self.

Too often, the systems meant to support healing are inaccessible, fragmented, or disconnected from culture and context. Long waitlists. High costs. Models that overlook creativity, movement, and the wisdom of our surroundings.

As she was completing her master’s degree, she was placed at a local West Philadelphia school, where she supported the school-based mental health program and implemented an after-school social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. Working alongside students in their garden, she witnessed how tending to the earth helped them regulate emotions, build confidence, and connect with one another. But she also saw challenges, including programs stretched thin, educators doing their best with limited resources, and so many young people without consistent access to spaces of care, calm, and belonging.

That experience planted the seed for The Nature Clinic. By bringing holistic wellness directly into schools through the Healing Gardens Pilot Program, we can meet students where they are and nurture resilience from the ground up.

We’re on a mission to create accessible, trauma-informed spaces that integrate mental health support with the grounding power of nature. Through gardening, art, mindfulness, and community care, we help young people reconnect with themselves, with others, and with the world around them.