@GOODLUZ / 123RF.COM
12 / INSIGHT
LEADING THE WAY IN SOCIAL AND THERAPEUTIC HORTICULTURE Rachel Freeman, lecturer in horticulture at Technological University Dublin frames the latest research on STH and explains why educational institutions need to lead the way
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here is a need for educational institutions to lead the way in terms of supporting practitioners’ access towards best practice, through accessing the latest research, helping with evaluation of services, and guidance on access to funding resources. Social and therapeutic horticulture (STH) sits within an overall therapeutic framework called Green Care. Green Care encompasses therapeutic activities such as care farming, facilitated green exercise, animal assisted therapy, ecotherapy, wilderness therapy, nature therapy and social and therapeutic horticulture. These activities are linked under the umbrella term Green Care through their use of nature and the natural environment in their interventions and active therapy processes within the areas of health, education and social settings. Research indicates that green care or care in a green environment has the potential to improve existing therapeutic programmes and health service outcomes through the incorporation of green elements, with research demonstrating the wellbeing potential for use of green care settings. Horticulturists working as STH practitioners in Ireland find themselves working in a relatively niche area. That said, health and wellbeing are big business and there are many options to use their skills, in and with nature through the broader scope of green care. Horticulturists interested in developing beyond STH can further their practice into
green care, as interventions and activities not only occur in clinical healthcare settings but also in the areas of education, social and community. The term Nature Assisted Practice (NAP) is used to describe the activities of practitioners actively using nature and green environments in their therapeutic practices. Growing numbers of practitioners from an array of backgrounds including healthcare (nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychotherapy), community and youth development, social care, environment, creative arts are using elements of nature (plants and growing media) and nature based settings in their interventions. These practitioners are seeing the benefits of joining forces with STH practitioners. They are working as part of a multidisciplinary team which includes horticulturists, particularly where clinically defined goals are set and a natural environment is the intervention setting. Additionally, STH practitioners are becoming involved in nature assisted practice activities occurring in settings that provide education and experiences in nature. Here their focus may be to facilitate group work in an outdoor setting with the goal of fostering group cohesiveness. Activities of this type might include nature camps, forest school, scouts, and school environmental education. These programmes don’t necessarily need the input of a healthcare professional, and by their nature allow for a greater degree of flexibility
Spring 2019 / www.horticultureconnected.ie / HORTICULTURECONNECTED
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