Horticulture

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/76789/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
What do an engineer, a building surveyor and a mental health nurse have in common? The answer is a retrofitted rooftop garden. This was a project developed to evaluate the impact of horticultural therapy on the health and wellbeing of people recovering from mental illness. 
When engineer Rob Casilick contacted building surveyor and academic Sara Wilkinson with the news that he had funding to evaluate the GROW horticultural therapy program on the rooftop garden at St Canice’s, an inner-city church in Sydney’s Kings Cross, she knew this was a great opportunity. She also knew she couldn’t evaluate the health effects, so turned to UTS academic and mental health nurse Fiona Orr. 
They understood just how broad the potential benefits could be. Approximately one in every five Australians experiences a mental illness. Mental health may be affected by individual or societal factors, including economic disadvantage, poor housing, lack of social support and the level of access to, and use of, health services. 
Yet, in our increasingly urbanised, high-density, high-pressure and, some say, increasingly isolated world, there is growing evidence of a salve and a way of mitigating stress, pressure and mental illness. And it’s right above our heads. Based on the findings of the GROW study, other rooftop gardens are now being created.
Rooftops are usually unused and unloved spaces. Around 34% of all horizontal spaces in our cities are rooftops. Green roofs, retrofit or new build, can help control stormwater run-off, improve air quality, reduce the urban heat island effect, increase biodiversity, improve thermal performance, increase property value and, importantly here, provide amenity space. 
How does green space affect well-being?
Where and how we live affects our mental health and wellbeing. The benefits of green spaces include:
participation in activities that promote social interaction and increase physical exercise;
reductions in stress and improvements in mood and attention; and
positive effects on anxiety and mood disorders.
In 1984, Edward Wilson introduced the biophilia hypothesis. This is based on the idea that humans have an innate tendency to seek connection to nature for its calming effects. Literally, biophilia means “love of life or living systems”.
The question is: does it exist? And could it be incorporated in the lives of people recovering from mental illness?
Where we seeded
St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, agreed to trial two horticultural therapy programs for people recovering from mental illness. The rooftop space at St Canice’s was about 55m² with garden beds containing vegetables, small shrubs, flowering plants and herbs, as well as a small vertical garden for flowers and strawberries. The kitchen of the church used some of the vegetables and herbs grown here to prepare meals for local homeless people. 
The GROW horticultural therapy program comprised weekly, two-hour sessions for participants over eight consecutive weeks. A horticultural therapist, supported by a professional gardener, led these sessions. 
During two sessions, guest presenters with specialist skills in music and cookery led activities that complemented that week’s gardening program. 
What grew out of this?
Most of the participants did not have their own garden, so the program provided them with access to a relaxing and beautiful space that enhanced their health and wellbeing. Some of the many benefits they identified included regular connection with others and developing friendships, experiencing enjoyment, and restorative health.
It’s like a little haven, or a little sanctuary to come to every week. You would never imagine something like this up on a roof. It’s a beautiful garden … and there’s lots of different plants and they produce oxygen for us. It’s just a beautiful place.
Getting to know everyone a bit more each week, it’s been brilliant, developing relationships and friendships.
I’m coming here to enjoy myself … and I walk out with a smile every time I leave this place.
It’s central to my recovery and ongoing mental wellness and it should be seen as a fundamental part of the healing process for people with mental illness.
Sowing seeds for the future
The benefits to participants were positive and very apparent. Both researchers experienced positive benefits of participation in the weekly program, too. 
Possibly the best outcome is that, based on the evaluation of the two programs, the education liaison officer at St Vincent’s Hospital was able to make a case for retrofitting three unused rooftop spaces at the hospital. 
The case was supported and the hospital is having designs drawn up for two of the roofs. Before and after the retrofit, Fiona and Sara will be undertaking evaluations of staff, visitors and consumers’ experiences of the spaces, as well as the horticultural therapy programs. 
A final thought is that this approach is very transferable into other sectors where people experience periodic stress and/or isolation. That would include the corporate sector and high-density residential areas. So think about it, and see if you can go up on the roof too.
Sara Wilkinson is associate professor, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sara-wilkinson-14186" target="_blank">here</a>.
Fiona Orr is director of International Activities, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/fiona-orr-367385" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Biophilic urbanism: how rooftop gardening soothes souls

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/65251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">GUEST OBSERVER
“That’s all very well put,” says Candide, in the final line of Voltaire’s novel of the same name, “but we must go and work our garden.”
I studied this text at high school before I became a gardener and professional horticulturist. We were taught that Candide’s gardening imperative was metaphorical not literal; a command for finding an authentic vocation, not a call to take up trowels and secateurs.
In fact, Voltaire himself really believed that active gardening was a great way to stay sane, healthy and free from stress. That was 300 years ago.
As it turns out, the science suggests he was right.
The science of therapeutic horticulture
Gardens and landscapes have long been designed as sanctuaries and retreats from the stresses of life – from great urban green spaces such as Central Park in New York to the humblest suburban backyard. But beyond the passive enjoyment of a garden or of being in nature more generally, researchers have also studied the role of actively caring for plants as a therapeutic and educational tool.
“Therapeutic horticulture” and “horticultural therapy” have become recognised treatments for stress and depression, which have served as a healing aid in settings ranging from prisons and mental health treatment facilities to schools and hospitals.
Gardening and school
Studies of school gardening programs – which usually centre on growing food – show that students who have worked on designing, creating and maintaining gardens develop more positive attitudes about health, nutrition and the consumption of vegetables.
They also score better on science achievement, have better attitudes about school, and improve their interpersonal skills and classroom behaviour.
Research on students confirms that gardening leads to higher levels of self-esteem and responsibility. Research suggests that incorporating gardening into a school setting can boost group cohesiveness.
Gardening and mental health
Tailored gardening programs have been shown to increase quality of life for people with chronic mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression.
Another study on the use of therapeutic horticulture for patients with clinical depression sought to understand why gardening programs were effective in lessening patient experience of depression. They found that structured gardening activities gave patients existential purpose. Put simply, it gave their lives meaning.
In jails and corrective programs, horticultural therapy programs have been used to give inmates positive, purposeful activities that lessen aggression and hostility during and after incarceration.
In one detailed study from a San Francisco program, involvement in therapeutic horticulture was particularly effective in improving psychosocial functioning across prison populations (although the benefits were not necessarily sustained after release.)
Gardening has been shown to help improve the lives of military veteransand homeless people. Various therapeutic horticulture programs have been used to help people with learning difficulties, asylum seekers, refugees and victims of torture.
Gardening and older people
As populations in the West age, hands-on gardening programs have been used for older people in nursing homes and related facilities.
A systematic review of 22 studies of gardening programs for older adults found that gardening was a powerful health-promoting activity across diverse populations.
One study sought to understand if patients recovering from heart attack might benefit from a horticultural therapy program. It concluded:
[Our] findings indicate that horticultural therapy improves mood state, suggesting that it may be a useful tool in reducing stress. Therefore, to the extent that stress contributes to coronary heart disease, these findings support the role of horticultural therapy as an effective component of cardiac rehabilitation.
While the literature on the positive effects of gardening, reflecting both qualitative and quantitative studies, is large, most of these studies are from overseas.
Investment in horticultural therapy programs in Australia is piecemeal. That said, there are some standout success stories such as the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and the work of nurse Steven Wells at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre and beyond.
Finally, without professionally trained horticulturists none of these programs – in Australia or internationally – can take place.
Chris Williams is lecturer in urban horticulture, University of Melbourne and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-williams-300083" target="_blank">here</a>.
</body></html>

Horticulture

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

The latest real estate & off the plan properties & news, delivered to your inbox.

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

The latest real estate & off the plan properties & news, delivered to your inbox.

Horticulture

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

The latest real estate & off the plan properties & news, delivered to your inbox.

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

The latest real estate & off the plan properties & news, delivered to your inbox.