UNION - United Nations representative, global ambassador, New Jersey thought leader, and disability activist Priscilla Garces of Union finds in her backyard herb garden a way to revive and renew.

Her organization, Always Forward, joined hands this summer with the Women's Federation for World Peace International, and WFWPI UN Global Peace Ambassadors, to formally participate in the launch of "NJ Farmacy and Peace Garden."

"The message is to live a healthy and sustainable life," Garces told InsiderNJ.

The herbs in her garden include oregano, chamomile, and mint, each with specific qualities to heal and calm. Garces said the act of planting itself begins the process of wholeness. "When you plant herbs, it creates a sense of peace," she explained.

A Seton Hall grad, holder of a Master’s Degree in nonprofit leadership from Fordham University and a translator certification from New York University, Garces travels the globe as a United Nations representative on behalf of Women's Federation for World Peace International. Always seeking new policy ideas to help the disabled, she has gone to Japan, Thailand and Dubai in search of ways to improve and harmonize life in New Jersey. Blind since birth, she dedicates her life to the multidisciplinary creation of peace, doing her part to lift her home state out of parochialism to connect with cutting edge initiatives worldwide.

Last year, she oversaw the United Nations International Day of Peace at Kean University. "When we collectively unite and work together through the accomplishment of actions, we can achieve a more peaceful world," she told InsiderNJ. "As a global ambassador for peace, I joined in the commemoration of the international day by spearheading this forum with a goal of promoting awareness about the crucial importance of action."

This year, Garces traveled to Mexico to receive a peace award and personally experience the healing powers of the Pacific Ocean. All those currents come back to New Jersey.  "Nature heals and peace starts at home," she told InsiderNJ in her backyard yesterday, with her herb garden, refuge in a busy world, which at the same time fulfils a key goal of the United Nations.

As always, she would like to see New Jersey make improvements on behalf of those with disabilities.

"New Jersey Transit, for example, needs a lot of work, in terms of improvements to safety and courtesy," Garces told InsiderNJ. "People who drive buses and trains should have more empathy and not yell or treat people uncourteously. We also need to do more to ensure priority seating for people with disabilities."

She's concerned too about federal funding cuts to vital programs, amid tremendous world volatility.

To see and hear Priscilla Garces in her herb garden in Union, please go below: