Humanscape

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
NOVEMBER 2017

Inspired by the late Kevin Heinze, the "super garden" is doing far more than lust looking pretty. {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
OCTOBER 2017

the 15th World Congress on Public Health held in Melbourne recently, highlighted the case for collaboration and investment to "improve health, wellbeing and quality of life through access to and time in nature". {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
AUGUST 2017

A few years ago I finally finished my PhD study. The subject was horticulture based therapy and Australia. Working for the oldest and largest horticultural therapy organisation and Australia gave me some advantage but did not prepare me for the depth of diversity and the complexity of practice in our country {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
JULY 2017

At the recent Parks and leisure State Conference in Victoria, our Humanscape team provided a glimpse of horticulture therapy to people from a range of professional backgrounds. {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
JUNE 2017

We know that regular and frequent engagement with environment is good for human health. What is also clear is that gardening is great for mental health treatment and recovery." {...}  read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
MAY 2017

The European Network for International Learning (2012) found that "Whatever way we look at population curves, they all show a gradual separation of the elderly curve from that of people of working age and the young, and this gap shows no sign of narrowing over the coming three decades." {...}  read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
APRIL 2017

Many modern universities, such as Deakin in Melbourne's east, are becoming popular sustainable food producers. The recent launch of the new Deakin community garden was attended by more than 100 supporters and has shown that gardens can add much to the colure and fabric of university life. {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
MARCH 2017

Retail therapy is a term often banded about when someone might be in need of an immediate uplifting experience. A bad day at work? Kids driving you mad? A little retail therapy will make you feel better,or so it is said. research provides evidence that shopping can provide psychological benefits{...} read more

BY MEL HOLMES, Consultant Practitioner
MARCH 2017

The idea of using horticulture as a form of therapeutic intervention has been around since the first people stomped out of caves in a huff after a bad day;s hunting but then they felt much better after getting a bit of gathering done to raise their spirits. In Occupational Therapy we use everyday activities to enhance independence and wellbeing{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
FEBRUARY 2017

In the 1960S 'flower power was part of the protest movement in the USA... These days I would speculate that people at the time were saying that 'flowers were symbolic of peace'... While war is fundamentally ugly and destructive, flowers have a fragile beauty{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
JANUARY 2017

Highlighting the growing awareness and importance of therapeutic environments for Human health, and building on last years successful conference in Melbourne, the second Therapeutic Landscape conference was held in Sydney... keynote speaker Anna Baker Cresswell and Dr Theresa Scott kicked off the day telling of their inspiring experiences using horticultural therapy{...} read more

BY AMANDA MARSHALL, KEVIN HEINZE GROW
NOVEMBER 2016

'Fear is the emotion that separates the developing child from the full sensual benefits of nature... including the fear of nature itself'{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
OCTOBER 2016

In the older outer suburbs our gardens embrace each other. Some of the gardens are carefully planned and tended, others are not so. Regardless, the trees and bushes arch over fences and intertwine with each other, connecting all as{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
SEPT 2016

Sometimes it is difficult to understand all difficulties others have faced in their lives. War in any form is destructive and traumatic, for those in areas of conflict it is very personal and often life changing, However, it has been found that for those affected by trauma, gardens can have a very positive effect in recovery. Although the use of horticulture as therapy goes back thousands of years.{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
AUGUST 2016

Over the past few months, I have written about various aspects of horticultural therapy and its applications. It would be easy to dismiss the therapeutic aspects of horticulture as largely irrelevant to the nursery landscape sectors. But this is not so{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
JULY 2016

We all know that, without plants, humans would cease to exist. All of our food comes directly or indirectly from plants. It is through transpiration that plants help circulate the world's water, moderate climate by storing carbon and give off oxygen. That's the big picture, but there is also a more direct and subtle relationship between plants, gardens and people.{...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
JUNE 2016

Gardens in aged care can provide an opportunity to give a person some independence in a natural environment where they are at ease. There is also a gentle affirmation that there is life outside of the confines of a building and the often regimented life of supported care. In other words, gardens can give a person a level of self-determination and an opportunity to achieve a positive empowering experience {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
MAY 2016

It is in a garden environment that children can learn about nature, the environment, their community and themselves. It is also becoming more widely recognised that when children are engaged in gardening they are provided with many positive benefits. {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
APRIL 2016

As gardeners we are particularly fond of our gardens. They can develop over time and become our own meandering landscapes materpieces. We usually know our gardens intimately and, regardless of its appeal to others , it is our personal sensory space. {...} read more

BY DR CHRIS REED, Consultant Practitioner
AUTUMN 2016

Chris is a consultant practitioner for Kevin Heinze Grow, where he was the SEO for 9 years. In his current role, he advises both government and the non-government sector on the benefits of gardens and green space for human health. Chris was instrumental in initiating the first national therapeutic landscapes conference where he was also a presenter.  {...} read more