Busan is good

Busan Supports Youth Mental Health through Healing Agriculture with Water Dropwort

내용

Busan Agricultural Technology Center will conduct eight sessions of “We’re All Different!!!,” a healing agriculture program using water dropwort, at Baraemi Healing Farm from September 6 to November 1. The program is designed to help adolescents relieve stress, recover emotionally, and develop respect for life.

The program is being implemented after Busan Agricultural Technology Center was selected for the Rural Development Administration Rural Resources Division’s “2026 Pilot Project to Develop a Representative Model for Participant-Tailored Healing Farms.” It aims to enhance the professionalism of healing agriculture in Busan and establish a participant-tailored healing service model using agricultural and rural resources.

The pilot project will take place at Baraemi Healing Farm in Gangseo-gu, Busan. The Rural Development Administration, Busan Agricultural Technology Center, and Busan Gangseo-gu Mental Health Welfare Center will work together to operate a healing agriculture program tailored to adolescents by linking the fields of agriculture and mental health.

Approximately 12 middle school students will participate. In cooperation with the Busan Gangseo-gu Mental Health Welfare Center, participants will be recruited and selected based on the program’s objectives and participation requirements. The participating organizations will also establish a cooperative framework to ensure that the adolescents can take part in the program in a stable and consistent manner.

The program will consist of eight Sunday sessions from September 6 to November 1. Through nature and agricultural activities, it is designed to help adolescents understand and express their emotions, relieve stress, develop positive self-awareness, and experience the formation of healthy social relationships.

In particular, the program will focus on agricultural and horticultural healing activities utilizing the growth characteristics and cultivation environment of water dropwort, the signature crop of Baraemi Healing Farm. A variety of activities will be offered to encourage interest and participation among adolescents, including learning about and observing water dropwort, hydroponic cultivation of water dropwort, preparing food with water dropwort, sensory activities using fragrances and plant resources, and activities promoting self-expression and relationship building.

The program title, “We’re All Different!!!,” conveys the idea of helping participating adolescents naturally understand individual differences, respect their own personalities and emotions, and develop a positive sense of self through the healing resources of agriculture and rural communities.

Busan Agricultural Technology Center plans to assess participants’ psychological and emotional changes before and after the program and analyze participant satisfaction and program effectiveness. The findings will be used as baseline data for expanding healing agriculture services for adolescents in Busan and further advancing healing farm programs.

The project is particularly meaningful as a healing agriculture model based on cooperation among the agriculture, public health, and mental health sectors. By combining the Rural Development Administration’s research achievements in healing agriculture, the agricultural technology expertise of Busan Agricultural Technology Center, and the mental health support system of the Busan Gangseo-gu Mental Health Welfare Center, the organizations aim to enhance both the program’s professional quality and its practical applicability.

Based on the results of this pilot project, Busan Agricultural Technology Center plans to continue strengthening interagency cooperation across the agriculture, public health, and mental health sectors. It will also identify and expand participant-tailored healing agriculture services utilizing healing farms in Busan for adolescents and a wide range of other groups with diverse social needs.

Park Mi-jin, Director of Busan Agricultural Technology Center, said, “We hope this program will give adolescents an opportunity to step away from the stresses of daily life, understand themselves and one another’s differences, and grow in a healthy way by experiencing the healing value of agriculture and nature.”

She added, “We will continue working closely with relevant organizations, including the Rural Development Administration and the Busan Gangseo-gu Mental Health Welfare Center, to expand Busan-tailored healing agriculture services that residents can genuinely experience and benefit from.”