What: Green Care Farms Inc. has been working hard to shift our educational workshop series on how to start a care farm into an online learning management system! We have completed two rounds of beta testing with Canadian community leaders with great success! This Spring 2026 we are recruiting anyone who wants to learn How To Start A Care Farm. The initial course content will summarize our model which is based on the Dutch care farming models all over the Netherlands and parts of Europe. Subjects include:

 

1. Week 1: “The Why” to care farming (Reasons why people might care farm), what the research says and program operations structure; 

2. Week 2: Client populations, staffing, and organizational culture, branding, marketing and media;

3. Week 3: Our day program for people with dementia, about the Sensory Garden, how a care farm can expand and relevant stakeholders.

 

Our example population will be people with dementia however the care farming concepts taught are transferable to many different populations.

 

Why: Our vision, "A Green Care Farm for people with dementia in every community in Canada". Since our inception in 2020 we have learned that many folks want to learn about care farming and that Canada is lacking in teachers! We are committed to growing care farming in Canada and sharing our knowledge with others.

 

Who: The course is delivered in a series of recorded segments with live Ask Me Anything events. The course is ideal for anyone who wants to learn about starting a care farm. Folks might desire to either open a care farm of their own or be directly involved in opening one (e.g. working with a farmer). We are working on the first set of content to offer as a course and we plan to continue offering educational opportunities.

 

We welcome anyone who is passionately interested in care farming. This might include, but is not limited to: local professionals supporting vulnerable populations (e.g. older adults including people with dementia) such as Activationists, Horticultural Therapists, Nurses, Personal Support Workers, Recreation Therapists, Social Workers etc. as well as landowners, farmers and community-based groups.

 

Facilitators: This course will be taught by our Founder and CEO Rebekah Churchyard alongside the Green Care Farms core team.  Our work is largely completed with volunteer hours and enrolling in courses with us is a great way to support us!  

 

When: This Green Care Farms learning platform will be offered in April 2026!

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Where: This course will be facilitated through an online learning experience which you will have your own profile on. You must have access to a computer with video as well as a stable internet connection.

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Cost: cost will be determined on a signup fee and monthly subscription. The first user group will be discounted… Sign up for the waitlist today for your discount!