Nature Heals

An Introduction to Nature-based therapies in Australia and NewZealand

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Nature Heals Book

Nature Heals: Nature, Horticultural And Eco Therapies in Australia and New Zealand
Nature Heals is more than an introduction, it is an inspiration and invitation to nature-based therapies. The authors outline the multi-disciplinary skills and techniques required for a practitioner to effectively and compassionately con¬nect people with nature. It is richly illustrated with stories of joy and compassion from remote desert regions of Australia to the misty waterways of Aotearoa/NZ ; from hospital environments to aged care facilities, dementia-friendly gardens, mental health clinics, community gardens, farms, prisons and botanic gardens, spanning the nation from the ocean to the wilderness.
*Our book turned 2 on April 12th 2021! Our first anniversary present to our readers is a discount which is staying permanently – a special price of $40 AUD + $5 post to anywhere.**

Nature Heals: Nature, Horticultural And Eco Therapies in Australia and New Zealand

Nature Heals is more than an introduction, it is an inspiration and invitation to nature-based therapies. The authors outline the multi-disciplinary skills and techniques required for a practitioner to effectively and compassionately con¬nect people with nature. It is richly illustrated with stories of joy and compassion from remote desert regions of Australia to the misty waterways of Aotearoa/NZ ; from hospital environments to aged care facilities, dementia-friendly gardens, mental health clinics, community gardens, farms, prisons and botanic gardens, spanning the nation from the ocean to the wilderness.

Our book turned 2 on April 12th 2021! Our first anniversary present to our readers is a discount which is staying permanently – a special price of $40 AUD* + $5 post to anywhere.

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Nature Heals provides a truly heartening sign of a healthy, thriving “ecosystem” of therapeutic programs, deeply affirming of and to our humanity. Mapping a sample of the vital and growing variety of opportunities for people to engage in the healing and integration of the whole self, that Nature-based Therapy provides. Exploring the context together with the multi-disciplinary skills required for practitioners to effectively and compassionately connect people with nature.

Nature Heals shares stories and examples of Nature-based therapies in Australia and New Zealand. From the remote Kimberley region with inmates growing and preparing food to youth at risk in forests and waterways of Aotearoa/NZ. Nature is facilitated as healer for:

people recovering from post traumatic stress disorder
incorporated into programs for eating disorders in mental health clinics
community gardens
people living with a disability caring for plants and experiencing animal assisted therapy
as rehabilitation in hospitals; to immersion in the beauty of flower farms and into dementia specific gardens and more.

All stories that inspire. We warmly acknowledge each and every one who has generously contributed examples of their valuable work. This book is ‘meant to get dirty’ … take it with you into the outdoors … anyone interested in health, gardens and nature will relish their journey through ‘Nature Heals’.

Authors : Virginia Field, Karen Gray and Kerryn Coombs-Valeontis

“Just like life, gardening brings us joys, surprises, disappointments, and challenges. We sow seeds and we pull out weeds but horticultural therapy is much more than that. Through taking part in the gardening activities we connect with nature and with people and draw our own symbolic connections. We think and feel through the plants and the natural world.”
Anna (participant)

“We all (no matter how far removed our lives are from the soil, the seasons and its produce) have some primitive, species-spanning ‘memory’ of cultivation, and by implication horticulture and gardening. We can literally dig up the gardener inside, and in doing so, re calibrate ourselves … back to a way of being…”
Jeanine Wardman ( Verve Flowers NZ )