Low-Maintenance Eco Gardens: Small-Scale Solutions for a Healthier Planet

Kardos, Jen: - Jen Kardos is a licensed mental health therapist (LMHC) and certified functional medicine health and wellness coach (NBC-HWC, FMCHC) in private practice in Iowa City, Iowa. She is a lifelong gardener and holds a professional certificate in Horticultural Therapy. Over the past decade, through her work in therapy, health coaching, and as the Wellness Director with the nonprofit Backyard Abundance, she has taught classes and worked one-on-one with people suffering from physical and mental health concerns who are seeking new solutions.

Her favorite approach is to connect them more deeply with nature, and nurture other lifestyle factors that can reconnect them with their aliveness and innate ability to heal. She asserts that nature reflects the wisdom and soothing of our nervous systems that we are all seeking during these stressful times. She is delighted to share the permaculture gardening approach with a larger audience, for as a busy mom of three teenagers, she finds it be the most time efficient and stress relieving way for her and her family to enjoy the bounty of their yard.