Educational, Social & Therapeutic Horticulture & Farming
Guiding people of all ages and abilities through nature, through real work, quiet attention and practical experience, in schools, care and community settings.
Programs, places and the people who keep them going.
Not a list of services. One practice, expressed three ways. We design and build the places, run the programs inside them, and train the people who carry the work on.
Structured, hands-on programs delivered on site and over time: in secondary schools and Support Units, in mental-health and specialised care settings, and alongside individuals and groups of all abilities.
Schools: curriculum, wellbeing and staff practice in one on-site model
Health services: garden-based sessions delivered with the clinical team
Communities, individuals and groups, including NDIS participants
What it actually looks like.
Grounded in real work.
School Program
Engagement, wellbeing and behaviour, without adding to staff workload
From half a day to a full day a week, over a term. An on-site model that weaves curriculum, wellbeing and staff practice into real, shared work, built for disengaged students and Support Units.
Read moreTherapeutic Garden Program
A safe, purposeful space to regulate and reconnect
Consistent, hands-on therapeutic engagement in health and care settings, for people of all ages and abilities. At the Kamala inpatient unit it became a place where young people could regulate, connect and rebuild a positive sense of self.
Read moreWe design and build the place, too.
Consultation, design, development and construction guidance for productive, therapeutic and educational landscapes. Programs and places belong together: a garden built around how it will actually be used is a garden that keeps going after we leave.
We work with what you have. No existing garden is required.
See the places →
A quiet, purposeful place to regulate and reconnect.
Through consistent, hands-on engagement in the garden, young people at the Kamala inpatient unit found a space to steady themselves, and the work quietly did what an activity alone can’t.
100%
improved to a good or great mood after a session6% → 50%
reporting a “great” moodFor twenty-six years I worked with farmers and Indigenous communities. In essence, working with people to care for Nature. Now I work with Nature to care for people. It felt NatureWhole to go with the flow; to paddle onto that big wave with mixed fear and excitement.
Good to know.
Schools (Years 1–12 and Support Units), health, mental-health and care settings, and individuals or groups of all abilities and ages, including NDIS participants.
From half a day to a full day a week over a school term, on-site, using your existing or a purpose-built garden and farm environment, delivered alongside your leadership and wellbeing teams.
Yes. Individual and group programs can be funded through Core and Capacity Support categories. Have a yarn and we’ll work out what fits your plan.
No. We work with what you have, and we design and build the place too: school farms, kitchen gardens, therapeutic courtyards and outdoor learning environments, for institutions and private clients.
Yes. We train and mentor the educators, health professionals, carers and volunteers who keep the work going between visits, on the tools, in your own garden.
Improved engagement, regulation, confidence and belonging. Results are gathered quietly and shared in context. For example, 100% of Therapeutic Garden participants improved to a good or great mood after a session.
Across the Northern Rivers, from Tweed to Grafton, and north into the Gold Coast. Schools, health services and communities throughout Northern NSW and South East Queensland.
Grown alongside good people.
- NSW Department of Education
- NSW Health
- Connect Northern Rivers
- Sylva Lining Organics
- Tweedside Dairy
- Johny's Garden
NatureWhole is based in Bundjalung Country and works throughout Northern NSW and South East Queensland. We acknowledge and work across the lands of the Bundjalung and neighbouring First Nations peoples, and pay respect to Elders past and present.