Magazines

Hort. Journal Australia OCT 2021.

Therapeutic Landscapes Conference goes online

Words by  Dr Kate Neale MAIH

It’s been nearly two years since Therapeutic Horticulture Australia (THA) was able to convene its popular Australian Therapeutic Landscapes Conference (#ATLC). Covid-19 and border restrictions continued to plague its planning in 2020 until finally the decision was made to take it online. Online formats have their advantages. In many ways it makes attendance more accessible and inclusive to those who can’t bear the burden of the inevitable cost of travel. But for those who have attended any of the last few National conferences would know – a special type of magic happens when we come together in the same room on the day. So how did the inaugural online #ATLC fair?

Hosted on the 3^rd September 2021, the conference promised a full day of presentations, conversations, networking opportunities and thoughtful debate. The program outlined a suite of live presentations from Australian and International speakers. Something not quite realised in its planning, one delegate commented that after 18months of no international travel and a really insular perspective on life in Australia brought about through covid-19, to have international presenters from the UK, Canada and Singapore felt like the world had been opened back up to us somewhat. There was a thoughtful blend of topics on the “main stage” exploring the role of therapeutic spaces in care settings by Allison Williams[i], the need to restore nature if we are in hope of Nature restoring us from Simon Morrison[ii], and an exploration by Sue Stuart-Smith[iii] of the presence of therapeutic horticulture throughout history which served to inspire our work into the future. Fitting given the THA research sub-committee[iv] presented the findings of their survey mapping therapeutic horticulture research and practice across Australia and the audience were clearly ready for a robust debate of how we elevate it beyond a field of interest and towards a formally recognised industry or sector as provoked by Kate Lee, Sara Barron and John Rayner[v]. The survey findings and robust enthusiasm of the crowd to engage in Barron, Lee and Rayner’s national teaching framework illuminate the desire and need for formalisation of therapeutic horticulture training and education in Australia.

As always, the conference program also showcased the great work of individual programs and practitioners across Australia. Lunchtime workshops invited delegates to participate in a range of activity-based learning including: a presentation of the foundations of successful programming; an abridged version of forest bathing; an introduction to mindfulness in the garden; a journey of restoration for people and place after bushfires; and explanation of weaving occupational therapy into horticulture. The theme of restoration continued with a reminder to “Go Slow for a Mo”. 

In order to showcase as many great projects in Australia as possible, but feeling confined by only having so many hours in the day a call for pre-recoded 30 minutes presentations was sent out in advance of the conference.  It was well received with 11 submissions accepted on a variety of topics and contexts. Although left for people to enjoy within the virtual lunch break, with over five and a half additional hours of content, it was clear delegates would need to log back into the online portal and watch at some stage over the additional three months the content is available to them.

The ability to capture and archive presentations in the conference portal serves as a great reminder of the benefit of online formats. Instead of a flurry of business cards, scribbled notes and promise of future distributed pdfs, all delegates can access recordings in one easy to navigate place.

Due to its success and action-packed program, THA has made all recordings available to delegates for the next three months. If you missed the conference you can buy your own three-month access to the recordings at www.tha.org.au/conference.

By the end of the day, there was a clear mandate for THA moving forward. The take home message of the 2021 Australian Therapeutic  Landscape Conference was the important role of THA in rousing a collective voice and united effort to raise the profile and quality of TH programs and practitioners in Australia. The conference continues to be an important event in the calendar for inspiring and driving this, and the question for the conference committee next year will be how we can deliver the in-person networking opportunities we all know and love, and ensure all is captured and made available to a wider audience who may not be able to travel or wish to watch again and again.

[i] Professor, School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University

[ii] Co-founder and Director, Field Labs

[iii] Psychiatrist, psychotherapist and author of The Well Gardened Mind

[iv] Dr Kate Neale (SCU), Dr Theresa Scott (UQ), Dr Pauline Marsh (UTAS), D Amy Baker (UniSA), Dr Jonathon Kingsley (Swinburne), Assoc. Professor John Rayner (Uni of Melb), Dr Sara Barron (Uni of Melb) and Jen Reed.

[v] School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences (SEFS), Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne.

Social and Cultural Geography, July 2021.

More findings from an ARC research project I was a part of (2016-2019). This paper explores how the experience of liminal space-time influenced the working relationships between young people with cognitive disability and their support workers. It found that the pairs used liminal spacetime to build their relationships, creating conditions for mutual recognition to occur.

Findings that continue to resonate in research projects I’m currently doing in the space of therapeutic horticulture also where I see fleeting moments in the garden as opportunities to build interpersonal relationships between people with disability and other residents, neighbours, staff and their families.

The project from which the article is written looks at the relationship between young people with cognitive disability and their paid support workers.

Here’s the link for article. 

*In loving memory of JAIMSIE SPEEDING – co researcher with disability – who taught me so much about the lived experiences of people with disability and shaped my work in so many ways. I miss you as a friend and colleague every single day. You have shaped my work and it’s underlying ethos in so many ways and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. I miss you!

Hort. Journal Australia JUNE 2021.

Horticulture in education 

Words by  Michael Casey MAIH RH016 and Dr Kate Neale MAIH

Caption: Conceptualising horticulture in education as a: subject, tool, context and benefit. Image credit: Kate Neale

Horticulture has had a long history as a subject in education across all cohorts in one form or another. Watching seeds sprout and grow to seedlings has always been a popular activity within early years education. Primary schools enjoyed a boom in interest in horticulture through such programs as the highly successful Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden that educated children about healthy food whilst teaching them how to grow their own. Many high school students continue to have some form of “Ag classes” in their subject offerings and tertiary and vocational learning providers provide the necessary training and education for people to pursue careers in horticulture.

And whilst all these opportunities encourage students of all ages to engage with horticulture as a subject in itself, this article illustrates other ways horticulture has become a tool for learning across many subjects within the curriculum; is shaping integrated learning environments in educational spaces and having an impact on student wellbeing and belonging.

READ ARTICLE HERE

Michael Casey is Director of Evergreen Infrastructure and MJC Horticulture, National President of Australian Institute of Horticulture and currently sits on the council with Therapeutic Horticulture Australia. He can be contacted at president@aih.org.au or michael@evergreeninfrastructure.com.au

Dr Kate Neale holds concurrent fellowships at the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University and the Centre for Urban Greening and Ecology, Singapore National Parks. She specialises in the therapeutic benefits of horticulture for children, and people with disability. She is also the Vice President of Therapeutic Horticulture Australia. Her work can be viewed at www.digability.com.au.

Early Years Education (E.Y.E) Magazine 2021.

A vertical take on inclusive gardens

When wondering what makes a great garden for children with disability, the answer is it doesn’t need to be special, it just needs to allow everyone to participate. Inclusion in the garden isn’t about every opportunity being equal for all children. It’s about designing spaces or activities so that all children have a chance to meaningfully participate.

Here I explain the core tenets of inclusive gardening and apply them to a very new way of gardening for children with (and without) disability – vertical growing!

Click here to read the full article.

Hort. Journal Australia FEBRUARY 2021.

Involving children in the design and planning of greenspaces

Words by Dr Kate Neale MAIH  and Michael Casey MAIH RH016

Schools are increasingly recognising greenspaces provide students with important access to nature; wellbeing; shelter; places of retreat; integrated learning contexts and aesthetic appeal. As such, schools are increasingly engaging with landscape professionals who consult with principals, P&C committees and educators to establish the vision for a space, needs of the cohort and practical design elements. For professionals who engage meaningfully with students, this involves privileging their perspectives as the intended beneficiaries of the landscape design.

Co-design is the act of creating with others (as opposed to for others) in a way that values an intended user’s needs and lived experience whilst maximising opportunities for them to actively participate in the design process. It continues throughout the lifecycle of a project in refining and re-designing as the project comes to fruition. Co-design inherently shifts power away from those with technical expertise towards the applied knowledge and experience that intended users hold. The main objective is to hear and understand what the users of these spaces want to see in the completed project. For schools, this both maximises the potential benefits greenspaces bring to children, and activates the benefits that arise through the process of their inclusion.

Designing alongside children creates the conditions for them to develop and practice important social skills such as understanding democratic processes, capacity building, resilience, teamwork, communication skills, problem-solving and active listening. Negotiating these process and spaces with others in a respectful and meaningful way instils a sense of social inclusion and cohesion – all important pillars for a sense of belonging and place. In addition, within this integrated learning environment children learn about (and subsequently benefit from) environmental pro-behaviour, biodiversity, sustainability, science, mathematics, play, artistic expression, design and of course, horticulture.

As co-designers, children contribute to the design process as experts of their own lives. By using methods to capture children’s self-expression, designers can gain rich insights into their previous and imagined uses of spaces, whilst overlaying these ideas with those of other important stakeholders whose ideas are also important to the project. These views iteratively inform the design as it progresses throughout the project phases.

There are a number of methods available to designers wishing to co-design with children and they are best chosen to suit the project and the students involved. Children are not a homogenous group so it is important to capture the voices of a range of children. It is also important to ensure the whole school cohort has been given the opportunity to participate, if not in the entire design process or overall design, then at least in aspects most relevant or appropriate to them.

Walk and talk tours (real or virtually) can fuel inspiration for school ground design. Thinking outside the school garden and discussing designs elements in home gardens, parks, public spaces or even indoor spaces allows children to draw on what feels familiar, inviting and safe and adds unexpected creature comforts to a school setting. Doing so, has the potential to increase a child’s connection to place and sense of security and belonging – important pillars of wellbeing.

Imaginative ‘Blue-sky dreaming’ sessions are successful where students may feel uncertain about the process but are reminded everyone knows how to imagine and there are no silly ideas. Children usually enjoy the fluidity and lack of constraint that comes with this process and whilst delivering on children’s wildest dreams may not be possible, the process helps unpack the essence of what is important to them which may be implemented in a more practical way. Ultimately it is important to seek and trust children’s perspectives and delve deeper to understand what their suggestions mean as it is likely to help you navigate compromises in the design whilst not deviating from their core wishes.

Drawing and collage presentations are another way for even young children to participate by allowing them to engage in broader perspectives of the design. Older children may prefer to be included on finer or more complicated aspects of the design where decision-making requires the ability to compare and negotiate through a number of considerations.

Secret ballots, one-on-one chats with designers and anonymous ideas box allow quieter children to give their opinion and receive equal billing amongst more popular or confident students. Sharing and adopting ideas through anonymous discussions can encourage a student to stand up and lead a conversation without taking ownership for it, whilst avoiding any embarrassment if deemed unfeasible or unpopular.

Delivering what has been agreed upon is critical to any project, including those with children. Most children have experienced adults not delivering, or under-delivering on promises, but that does not make it okay. Like any client, you need to give your word and deliver (don’t make promises you can’t deliver or fail to deliver on what you promised). Roundtable discussions and prioritised wish-lists help bring collective agreement to individual ideas and are usually successful after students have had the chance to engage in ideas, see examples, conduct research, feel confident in the process and believe their ideas will be heard. Managing expectations (and imaginations) by having options for children to choose between instead of asking open-ended questions about what they want to ensure you can deliver on their expectations whilst demonstrating their ideas have been taken seriously. These agreed ideas become a unified voice ready to present to other stakeholders, empowering students to take a leading role in a conversation and assert their voice of this project. The role of the professional here is to validate their ideas and ensure their continued involvement in design discussions alongside the adult stakeholders throughout the entire process.

The process ultimately creates better co-designed spaces that inspire children to become stewards of their new creations – increasing their sense of ownership and pride in their school grounds and making it more likely spaces will be cared for and respected by the students themselves. Reduced litter and damage to plants or infrastructure arguably reduces the burden of maintenance and upkeep for the school, making the project more cost-effective and sustainable in the long run. The benefit to professionals of this is the increased likelihood they have been able to deliver better-designed, more utilised, tailor-made and loved greenspace – increasing the success of the project and reputation of those involved.

One final note…

Although “childhood” is a constant, the children within are passer-byers… Spaces designed for children as a collective will serve many individual children, but we should remain mindful of how we can continue to accommodate the views and experiences of different cohorts of children into elements of the greenspace over time.

Michael Casey is Director of Evergreen Infrastructure and MJC Horticulture, National President of Australian Institute of Horticulture and currently sits on the council with Therapeutic Horticulture Australia. He can be contacted at president@aih.org.au or michael@evergreeninfrastructure.com.au

Dr Kate Neale holds concurrent fellowships at the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University and the Centre for Urban Greening and Ecology, Singapore National Parks. She specialises in the therapeutic benefits of horticulture for children, and people with disability. She is also the Vice President of Therapeutic Horticulture Australia. Her work can be viewed at www.digability.com.au.

Hort. Journal Australia SEPT 2020.

Up against the wall: Challenging traditional ideas of accessible gardens

Words by Dr Kate Neale and Michael Casey MAIH RH

Accessibility is one of the most important considerations for the meaningful participation of people with disability into gardening. There is a plethora of great garden design guides available for accessible gardening and many great innovations on the market to help make gardening accessible. But so far, one method of contained growing is largely underexplored – and is quite literally staring us in the face – the vertical garden.

The most obvious way we make gardening accessible for people of varying abilities is typically to raise gardening beds to waist height, ensure safe access around them and create garden bed configurations that enable the user to reach and utilise all available growing spaces. Most raised beds eliminate the need to either bend, kneel or squat when tending to the garden. They also typically allow people who rely on a wheelchair or require support when walking or standing to more easily access garden beds. Some beds even cleverly allow for wheelchairs to sit under the garden providing even closer interaction with plants. Vertical gardens however, provide a new perspective of the garden and therefore the way we interact with each plant within it. Issues of garden widths that obscure the sight or reach of plants are overcome by turning the footprint of a garden on its axis. Positioning vertical gardens within reachable heights make all plants equally accessible to users. The tipping of a garden on its axis also enables greater visibility of plants, each sitting in clear view on the growing plane and potentially making plant care and garden maintenance easier.

Accessible garden design prefers full access to all sides of garden beds or particular bed dimensions that eliminate dead zones in gardens that cannot be reached. There are many different growing systems when it comes to vertical growing, and along with these, different advantages for accessibility. A modular vertical garden has the added benefit of enabling each planting container to be removed and safely tended to on any table or raised surface. This makes the garden particularly useful for occupational therapy and rehabilitation programs. Any plant within the vertical wall can be separately and safely removed eliminating issues with plants at the centre being difficult to reach or increasing risk of injury for the gardener attempting to reach them. With this growing system, plants can also easily be changed without disturbing neighbouring plants thus increasing the success of the overall garden.

Vertical gardens can also act as privacy screens offering more intimate living areas for residents in care institutions whilst softening hard and often sterile walls that typically feature in such settings. Useful in courtyards or on balconies they offer visual appeal and interest, acoustic softening, cooling effects and a sense of general tranquillity. Their relatively slimline profile means they take up less space than raised beds in small areas, avoid cluttering in small spaces, eliminate the need for added space to manoeuvre around them and can be custom designed to available vertical spaces for the perfect fit in both public and private settings.

Safe mobility around garden beds is another important consideration of accessible garden design with paths kept clear from any obstructions and made from safe and level materials free to reduce the risk of falls, tripping or impeding access. However, in the pursuit of accessibility there is often a reduction in the interactions we have with plants that bring added sensory enjoyment to our time in the garden. Plants growing beyond garden boundaries and across pathways are a readily identified hazard, but one that provide a wonderful opportunity to deliberately or incidentally bruise foliage and release wonderful aromas. Wide pathways make brushing against foliage and textural interactions less likely, which is somewhat of a shame as it limits our sensory enjoyment of the garden. Vertical gardens overcome this issue by allowing people to brush past foliage whilst still keeping the ground free from any infrastructure or hazards, ensuring safe passageway around the garden.

Perhaps the best benefit of modular vertical garden though is its ability to reflect a collective growing effort. In a shared accommodation site such as an aged care or disability service, each resident can become a custodian of one or more modular containers, which when joined together demonstrates the collective togetherness of the community residing there. Not only a beautiful display for all to enjoy, but a powerful statement of the retention of each resident’s individual identity and their place and belonging within the community they collectively create and belong to.

What to grow

There are many growing options available for a vertical accessible garden. Planting guides based on sensory experiences are readily available online and many of these work in vertical walls also. Keep in mind the need for hanging plants to stay off the ground to minimise tripping hazards.

Options for growing vertically include:

• Leafy edibles such as, mizuna, pak choy lettuce, spinach, mustard, kale and silver beet for taste, texture and colour
• Scented plants such as basil, coriander, thyme, mints, lemon balm for a mixture of scents when brushed up against or bruised
• Colour such as marigolds, pansies, violas, impatients etc for seasonal colour dependant on environmental conditions in property
• Shade loving plants that can add colour and texture and lighten up dark spaces such as Blechnum ferns, Maidenhair ferns, bromeliads, Spider plant, Hares foot fern
• Lower maintenance plants such as Hedera variegated ivy, Philodendron Xanadu, Sedums, Liriopes can add a mixture of colour and growing habit that can allow plants to intertwine to create a tapestry of plants varieties.

Dr Kate Neale is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Children and Young People and specialises in the therapeutic benefits of horticulture for children, and people with disability. She is also the Vice President of Therapeutic Horticulture Australia. 

Michael Casey is Director of Evergreen Infrastructure Pty Ltd, a Design, Consultation, Construction and Management company operating in and around Melbourne. He is President of the Australian Institute of Horticulture. Michael can be contacted via: michael@evergreeninfrastructure.com.au.

Journal of Social Work, October 2020

The findings from an ARC research project I was a part of (2016-2019) imply that to promote quality relationships between people with disability and their paid support workers, organisations must create the practice conditions for recognition, respond to misrecognition, and encourage practices that make room for initiative and change within the paid relationship. Findings that continue to resonate in research projects I’m currently doing in the space of #therapeutichorticulture also.

The project from which the article is written looks at the relationship between young people with cognitive disability and their paid support workers.

Here’s the link for article. 

If you are unable to get behind the paywall, please contact me for a summary of the article.

*In loving memory of JAIMSIE SPEEDING – co researcher with disability – who taught me so much about the lived experiences of people with disability and shaped my work in so many ways. I miss you as a friend and colleague every single day. You have shaped my work and it’s underlying ethos in so many ways and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. I miss you!

Disability and Society, July 2020

Children and Youth Services Review Volume 116, September 2020

Recently published work from a previous Australian Research Council project I was involved in now forms the basis of my work in therapeutic horticulture.

The project from which the article is written looks at the relationship between young people with cognitive disability and their paid support workers.

Article highlights:

Here’s the link for the FREE open access article.

*In loving memory of JAIMSIE SPEEDING – co researcher with disability – who taught me so much about the lived experiences of people with disability and shaped my work in so many ways. I miss you as a friend and colleague every single day. You have shaped my work and it’s underlying ethos in so many ways and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.

CITYGREEN Magazine – ISSUE 18.

CITYGREEN Magazine is the epitome of current thinking on urban greening worldwide. Produced by Singapore NParks’ Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, contributions to the Singaporean bi-annual publication are through invitation. Therefore it is an incredible honour to be invited to report on student wellbeing through school gardens in it’s upcoming 2020/18 Issue.