Patch of Heaven Sanctuary

A PATCH OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

Patch of Heaven Sanctuary is a 20-acre nature retreat, home to the world’s first Mindful Pocket Park, where mindfulness reconnects Human Nature with Mother Nature. Our sanctuary features eight native butterfly species, an active bee apiary, and 500 cacao trees. 

In 2008 Bruce and Joyce Chesney purchase the rundown property and have spent the last 13 years dedicated to restoring this valuable piece of Miami's history. In 2018, Patch of Heaven Sanctuary became a nonprofit 501c3.

We're the only private non-profit dedicated to restoration and forest regeneration of tropical hardwood hammocks, located in the Redland Agricultural Area; with native & exotic gardens, koi ponds alongside new-growth forest on land converted from agricultural nursery land “Back To Nature”.

HELP US DOUBLE IN SIZE 

Redland forest, agriculture and natural spaces that support biodiversity are under constant pressure to be developed. We don’t want to pave paradise and put up a parking lot; our vision is to be THE ONLY REDLAND project to return agricultural nursery land “back to Nature”. 

We’ve done this before. 

We are Forest Growers. 

Just 15 years ago, between historic preservation and nature conservation work, we built this “Patch of Heaven” through rewilding and regenerating two magical pieces of land. 

We want to do it again.

And we need your help.

Our neighbor next door has offered the opportunity to acquire their nursery space so that we can grow to 40 acres; this expansion offers us the chance to create a Retreat Center for overnights and a wildlife rehabilitation space, while also contributing to the Miami Dade County tree canopy problem of less than 30% coverage.

Your donation is tax-deductible and will help us grow the size of Heaven; more groups can come for nature-based mindfulness and stress reduction experiences, and environmental ecology field trips. Won’t you be both a “Friend of the Forest” and an Angel to help us grow this little slice of paradise?

THE WORLD'S FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND MINDFUL POCKET PARK

Reconnect • Recharge • Regenerate

Designed to reduce anxiety and increase calm. As you pause and take The Nature Pill® you learn to Pay Attention With Your Senses (P.A.W.S). Using Sight, Sound, Scent, Touch and Taste as the anchor of focus, you will arrive in the present moment.

The world’s 1st Mindful Pocket Park℠ is based on the University of Michigan research that 20 mins in Nature reduces cortisol, which is the core hormone that bathes our body when we experience stress. Stanford’s research supports how vital to mental health “The Nature Pill℠” can be, possibly to reduce the risk of depression in an overly urbanized and concrete world.

 This is a dream come true that we we're able to build thanks to multiple donations including the ones coming from Give Miami Day!