Peter Prakke

Peter Prakke is a horticultural consultant in Ancaster, Ontario. After emigrating from the Netherlands to Canada, Peter furthered his knowledge as a horticulturist to share his expertise in the horticultural industry. In 2014, Peter presented as a guest speaker at the Canadian Urban Forest Conference – London, Ontario his initiative on “A Plan for Cities to Combat Pollen Allergies and Asthma.” For six years, he conducted evening gardening classes, at Mohawk College, Hamilton, ranging from beginner to specific seasonal gardening topics. Peter is the recipient of the Garden Communicator Award for Canada from Landscape Ontario, Canada’s largest Horticultural Trade Association. For many years, he was a volunteer at McMaster University, Hamilton, working with cancer patients and challenged children through horticultural therapy. To honour our Canadian soldiers, Peter originated the Bravery Park™. The parks with allergy-friendly maple trees are a tribute to soldiers for their courage, bravery, and dedication to freedom. To improve schoolyards for children with allergies and asthma, Peter initiated the Allergy Friendly Schoolyard© for North America and Europe. In 2015, Peter submitted a Private Members Bill to the Ontario Government, called the Allergy Friendly Schoolyard Act, 2015. The goal is for no more male clonal, pollen producing – native or non-native, asthma causing shrubs and trees in the schoolyards in Ontario. Peter has served as board director of the non-profit group SAFE gardening, which offers a healthy alternative to the all-too-common highly allergenic landscapes. He is presently researching allergenic plants, shrubs and trees in ongoing collaboration with Thomas Ogren, American lecturer and author of the Allergy-Fighting Garden, and the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale OPALS®.