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If you've been in the forest bathing community for long, you've probably heard the term phytoncides.

Many forest bathers boast the phytoncide exposure as one the main benefits of forest bathing. And for good reason.

Essentially, phytoncides are tree essential oils that have many medicinal properties.

They're the chemicals that encourage natural killer (NK) cell activity in the human body. NK cells are cancer-fighting proteins that literally seek and destroy tumor and virus-ridden cells. (More, please!)

These substances do so much more too!

Phytoncides are one of the greatest treasures of the forest.

If you're here, you're interested in learning more about phytoncides. So, let's take a closer look.

What are phytoncides?

Phytoncides are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or "essential oils" given off by trees. These chemicals have natural antimicrobial and insecticidal qualities that protect the tree from germs and parasites.

So, a tree emits these active substances to create a field of protection around itself against harmful bugs, bacteria, and disease. Other green plants, like vegetables, do this too.

There are thousands of phytoncides, but the most common forest-related compounds are listed here.

Types of phytoncides

[Check out our newest phytoncide tear sheet]

Phytoncides not only protect trees from attack, but they benefit forest visitors too.

Benefits of Phytoncides

When humans breathe phytoncides in, they can produce many fabulous benefits inside the body. Some of the responses discovered by science include:

Immune response: a 2-hour walk in the forest increases NK cell activity that can last for days

Anti-inflammatory: common forest terpenes temper inflammation and reduce oxidative stress

Nervous system: forest air creates a relaxation response and lowers nervous system activity

Mood enhancing: exposure to forest air reduces cortisol levels and β-pinene has antidepressive properties

Sleep: phytoncides like α-pinene enhance sleep

Blood glucose: exposure to VOCs can reduce blood glucose levels

The authors of an in-depth research review* sum up the benefits this way:

Visiting forests on a relatively regular basis can be a good health-promoting practice, since, by reducing stress levels and boosting immune function, it seems capable of diminishing the incidence of stress-related and lifestyle-induced illnesses, varying from cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic diseases to neuropsychiatric conditions and, possibly, even cancer.

Makes ya wanna jump up and go forest bathing right this minute, doesn't it?

[ Read more studies about the benefits of forest bathing here]

Phytoncides and forest bathing

Forest bathing is the best way to get your weekly dose of phytoncides.

These substances are part of the reason why forest bathing is so therapeutic. Evidence (and intuition) shows the chemicals support physical and psychological wellbeing.

Of course, the benefits don't stop at phytoncides. Other factors like the visual stimulation, sunlight, grounding elements, microbiome, and more add to the forests' therapeutic value.

But it's so cool when you can see these measurable, tangible components of the forest broken down in studies. They confirm what your heart has always told you.

The authors put it this way:

The type of activities performed outside, possibly ranging from static relaxation to intense physical exercises, along with the subjective perception of safety and connectedness to nature while visiting the natural environment, can influence the magnitude of beneficial effects exerted by the exposure to green areas.

Yassssss!

Getting outside and breathing in the fresh phytoncide-filled air is an exceptional practice to promote your health.

But, if you can't make it to the forest, you can use essential oils or your Christmas tree to get some of the lovely benefits.

Aren't phytoncides fascinating?

The more you know...
Hey, I love hearing from you... Drop a comment and let me know: Does the science demystify the magic of forest bathing for you? Or make it stronger?
*Antonelli, Michele; Donelli, Davide; Barbieri, Grazia; Valussi, Maro; Maggini, Valentina; Fabio Firenzuoli, Fabio. Forest Volatile Organic Compounds and Their Effects on Human Health: A State-of-the-Art Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health; 2020, 17, 6506.

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Phytoncides: The Science Behind Forest Bathing Benefits - Forest Bathing Central

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If you've been in the forest bathing community for long, you've probably heard the term phytoncides. Many forest bathers boast the phytoncide exposure as one the main benefits of forest bathing. And for good reason. Essentially, phytoncides are tree essential oils that have many medicinal properties.

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This is a link to the organisation we get our outdoor mats from. Our visiting teachers love them.

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Aboriginal Mats from Recycled Mats - the largest, highest quality selection

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Authentically designed Aboriginal mats by Indigenous artists to help you celebrate, preserve and cherish this rich heritage in comfort and style

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Five minute video about the a kitchen garden and youth training program for refugees at Werribee Park. As well as providing food, the garden has done wonders for this group of refugees, nurturing their physical and mental health.

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Jane Edmanson

JANE EDMANSON: A couple of years ago, I visited Werribee Park - an historic 400 hectare property featuring a mansion and beautiful gardens and it's about an hour west of Melbourne. But something else amazing was happening there which is where my story began.

These ladies are cooking up such a storm here at Werribee Park. They're Karen refugees from the border of Burma and Thailand and all that they're cooking, like this long melon, have all been grown here at the old kitchen garden on the estate.

Many of the Karen people had spent decades in refugee camps and had post traumatic stress disorder and feelings of isolation which is a major cause of depression. They also lacked a way of connecting to their new home in Melbourne.

EVELYN KUNOO: Sometime my community have depression. If you come to plant the vegetable and the depression is gone, yeah.

JANE EDMANSON: So, as well as providing food, the garden did wonders, nurturing their physical and mental health, so I've come to catch up with the founders of the project - Ranger in Charge James Brincat and Karen elder, Aunty or Daw Evelyn, just to see how things are growing.

Wowee! This has grown. Good morning. Hello James.

JAMES BRINCAT: How are you going Jane?

JANE EDMANSON: Hgaw ler ah hgay (hello), Daw (aunt) Evelyn. Nice to see you. How has it changed?

JAMES BRINCAT: Well, I think the last time you were here, we were looking at this as a project that was addressing isolation issues with women in the community....

JANE EDMANSON: Yes, yes, yeah...

JAMES BRINCAT: Well the women have brought their sons, they've brought their husbands and it's now absolutely expanded to this amazing project to now have a traineeship program for the younger...or the young adults for the Karen community so it's changed a lot.

JANE EDMANSON: That's wonderful. And Daw (aunt) Evelyn - you're enjoying the work?

EVELYN KUNOO: Yes. Good for the people...better. Good for the health.

JANE EDMANSON: Yes. That's excellent.

And that's true isn't it James - gardening is good for mental and physical health?

JAMES BRINCAT: Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. I've seen the change in some of the people that Sayama (teacher) brings in, who are not feeling well and she brings them in cause she believes that it's better for them to be here gardening than sitting at home.

JANE EDMANSON: And that's important, because this thing of doing something outdoors and in the garden is very satisfying and it works as real benefit for the power of the mind.

JAMES BRINCAT: It does and when I look around at some of the people who've come in to...and a good example is Zorroll - Zorroll came in suffering post traumatic stress disorder and he was really, really suffering.

ZORROLL: Compost....plenty to make yummy fruit...strong leafs, strong growth...beautiful...gardening.

JAMES BRINCAT: He now gardens every day and in particular, he likes to make compost and he's better than a Mallee Fowl, I tell you!

JANE EDMANSON: The kitchen garden has created all kinds of opportunities for a new generation of gardeners.

Hello there. How are you two getting on?

HSAR THEIN JU: Hey.

JANE EDMANSON: Hey! What are you doing?

LAH NAW PAW THA EI: We're just weeding around the plants

JANE EDMANSON: Hsar and Lah began gardening with their families and are now volunteering at Werribee Park as job-ready trainees - as a pathway to employment.

JANE EDMANSON: So what is this area doing?

LAH NAW PAW THA EI: We're just propagating the seed productions.

JANE EDMANSON: Yes, what for?

LAH NAW PAW THA EI: To revegetate the grassland area.

JANE EDMANSON: So all of these plants would be Western Plains grassland plants.

LAH NAW PAW THA EI: Yeah sure.

JANE EDMANSON: So what are we looking at here?

LAH NAW PAW THA EI: Ah bulbosa, Bulbine(Bulbine Lily - Bulbine bulbosa).

JANE EDMANSON: And it's a beautiful little bulb?

LAH NAW PAW THA EI: Yeah, it's a yellow flower which has a star shape on it...

JANE EDMANSON: It's very nice.

LAH NAW PAW THA EI:...when it's opened up.

JANE EDMANSON: They're growing beautifully. And Hsar, what are you growing...got down this way?

HSAR THEIN JU: This way is Chocolate Lily ( Dichopogon strictus)....they smell like chocolate.

JANE EDMANSON: Oooh...I'll have to smell that. Beautiful.

TRAINER: I'm going to teach you how to potentially get 6 trees on one tree.

JANE EDMANSON: They're also experiencing lots of practical horticultural skills - like grafting.

TRAINER: See that little white line there between the bark and the timber? That's called the cambium layer and that's the pipework of the tree where it sucks all of the moisture and all of the nutrients up to the rest of the tree.

JANE EDMANSON: Historical facilities, like the beautiful old glasshouses, are being brought back to life because trainees like Hsar and Lah are using them again.

JAMES BRINCAT: Have a look at this Hsar...this is two weeks. You know what that's from?

HSAR THEIN JU: No.

JAMES BRINCAT: Fish poo!

HSAR THEIN JU: Wow.

JAMES BRINCAT: So you feeding them fish is feeding this.

JANE EDMANSON: From humble beginnings, a simple kitchen garden has grown to become something much bigger and more important.

James, where do you see the program going from now?

JAMES BRINCAT: Oh look I certainly still see it heading as a mental health program because it's doing so well and I think it will also be a training centre for the youth in horticulture.

JANE EDMANSON: Yeah, it's a lovely combination isn't it?

JAMES BRINCAT: It is.

JANE EDMANSON: What do you like about the gardening here?

PARTICIPANT: I remember my country because my parents...we do the gardening...I come and do here and I feel very happy and very better...yeah.

COSTA GEORGIADIS: Well we're out of time again mate, but here's what's coming up on next week's show.

Jane meets a former Gardening Australia Gardener of the Year, to have a look around his new project.

Angus visits a farmer feeding his flowers with worm waste.

And Tino's getting stuck in - preparing his soil for spring.

Now there's plenty of info on mental health on the ABC website at Mental as or jump on the Gardening Australia website and follow the link.

CLARENCE SLOCKEE: Till next week, stay happy and healthy and get out into the garden.

COSTA AND CLARENCE: See ya!

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Jane Edmanson JANE EDMANSON: A couple of years ago, I visited Werribee Park - an historic 400 hectare property featuring a mansion and beautiful gardens and it's about an hour west of Melbourne. But something else amazing was happening there which is where my story began.

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Gardening Australia: Language of Gardening

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Gardening Australia: Language of Gardening

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Students come to the Adelaide Secondary School of English from all over the world and they're using the universal language of gardening to help them settle into their new home.

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Sophie Thomson

SOPHIE THOMSON: I'm visiting the Adelaide Secondary School of English. Students here come from all over the world and they're using the universal language of gardening to help them settle into their new home in Adelaide. By working together in the school garden, they get up to speed with their English, science and communication skills so they can move into the local school system.

G'day Paul.

PAUL COATS: Hi Sophie. How are you going?

SOPHIE THOMSON: It's great to meet you.

PAUL COATS: Yeah, nice to meet you too.

SOPHIE THOMSON: What wonderful weather for gardening.

Paul is a science teacher and horticulturalist and he saw the learning and cultural enrichment potential that lay within the garden.

So you saw an opportunity where gardening can be used as a universal teacher for anyone from any culture. And how does that work?

PAUL COATS: Absolutely. Oh look, I think it starts with these creatures here to be honest - with the plants. I mean, they're very evocative subjects and when you're talking about developing language, having evocative things to talk about is really important.

We've got a huge array of possibilities for descriptive language here - size, shape, colour, taste, smell - so many different sensory things that we can discuss and develop English language around.

What's that? Is that in the same family as this?

SOPHIE THOMSON: The students have come from over 70 different countries - mostly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Although their cultural backgrounds may be quite different, they all share a common bond when it comes to growing, cooking and eating food from the garden.

Now guys, what are you doing here?

STUDENT 1: Collecting the seeds for Holly Hocks.....

SOPHIE THOMSON: Holly Hocks - yeah.

STUDENT 1: ...so we can use it to plant new ones afterwards.

SOPHIE THOMSON: And what do you love about doing gardening at school?

STUDENT 1: I like gardening at school cause it's easier - not like back in Africa - we'd walk a long way and plant fruit and vegetables, but in Australia it's easier cause the teachers help you and gives us fruit and easy to plant.

SOPHIE THOMSON: Fantastic.

While English language skills are very important, students also get involved in some very hands-on gardening activities.

PAUL COATS: So who's seen these ones before?

STUDENTS: Me..me...me.

PAUL COATS: And what are they? What are they?

STUDENTS: Fig fruit.

PAUL COATS: Fig fruit - very good. I'm glad you all know what that is. So today we're going to try and propagate some Fig trees.

First thing we need to do is prepare our cuttings - maybe 5 or 6 of these - and then we're going to plant them. Then I want you to get a pot that you're going to go and sterilise in the sterilising liquid over there.

SOPHIE THOMSON: What about being involved in the garden here? What do you like about that?

STUDENT 2: I like the planting, propagating. I see new plants.

SOPHIE THOMSON: Why did your family want to leave Nepal and come here?

STUDENT 2: Because there's no good facilities, education. There's no democracy. They always fight. The police doesn't care about it.

SOPHIE THOMSON: And do you love being here in Australia?

STUDENT 2: Yeah!

PAUL COATS: Then you're going to come over here and fill it up with the potting media. You know what to do. Yeah?

SOPHIE THOMSON: How old were you when you left Iraq?

STUDENT 3: Probably 5 years old.

SOPHIE THOMSON: Five years old?

STUDENT 4: When I was 8.

SOPHIE THOMSON: When you were 8. And what was it like there?

STUDENT 4: It was...I can't remember very well, but it was a little bit nice, but after a few years, problems start between Iraq and America. That's why. We didn't like it there. We just went out.

SOPHIE THOMSON: Why did you leave Congo?

STUDENT 5: In Congo, it was civil war and stuff like this.

SOPHIE THOMSON: The learning process doesn't end in the school garden. It continues when students harvest produce from the garden to eat and to cook it.

Now Denarcy, you're originally from Congo, but you lived in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe, so did you use silverbeet over there?

STUDENT 6: We used many silverbeet in there.

SOPHIE THOMSON: Ok. The different coloured ones too?

STUDENT 6: Yeah we did.

SOPHIE THOMSON: Ok. This should be enough. Let's go and get stuck into it. I can't wait to see what you're going to do with it!

STUDENT 7: I came to Australia because my country was at war and after a better education, so I came to Australia.

STUDENT 8: I used to live in Zambia. I wanted to come here to see my father because it was the first time I came here, I saw my father.

PAUL COATS: I've experienced moments where a young person will come in here, see a plant and their eyes just go wide open and all of a sudden you see a zest for life come to the fore and you just...sure, that they've seen this plant before and all of a sudden, they start talking about it - all of these stories start coming out. 'I remember what we did with that back in, you know, back in this or that country. I remember the way that we cook it. This is what we do with it in our culture,' and all of a sudden, a student who hasn't spoken very much at all to you, is a talker and in English and that's exciting.

SOPHIE THOMSON: It's amazing how gardening can play such an important part in helping students ease into their new lives in Australia.

COSTA GEORGIADIS: What a fantastic set up and such a great start for those young people beginning their lives here in Australia.

Now our next story is about someone who came to Australia by boat more than 30 years ago and the journey in the years since. Here's Josh with more.

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Sophie Thomson SOPHIE THOMSON: I'm visiting the Adelaide Secondary School of English. Students here come from all over the world and they're using the universal language of gardening to help them settle into their new home in Adelaide.

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Forest Therapy walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens

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Forest Therapy walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsOW1SgylNQ&t=56s

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-24/living-in-an-apartment-you-should-get-some-indoor-plants/8738556
An abc article about the benefits of indoor plants in an urban environment.

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Indoor plants don’t just look nice — they are healthy, too

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The health benefits of being close to nature are well established, but the rise of apartment living means we can’t always be close to greenery.

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What do daffodils have to do with wellness in the city?

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What do daffodils have to do with wellness in the city?

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Gardening Australia

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Jane Edmanson

JANE EDMANSON: Today, I'm here at the Fitzroy Gardens where I'm seeing how the city of Melbourne is creating a flower-filled future.

Last year, I met Arron Wood who is chair of the City of Melbourne's environmental portfolio. Arron and his team had created a living laboratory - a flower meadow, smack-bang in the heart of the city, filled with colour for bees and people to enjoy.

The meadow was made up of summer flowering annuals sown from seed to create an environmental oasis and a bold landscape designed to brighten peoples' days. I'm catching up with Arron to find out about his latest project.

Well good morning Aaron!

ARRON WOOD: Hi Jane. Great to see you.

JANE EDMANSON: Nice to see you on such a beautiful day and such excitement!

ARRON WOOD: Isn't it stunning? It's all about bringing flowering meadows right into the heart of Melbourne.

JANE EDMANSON: Well it's certainly doing that. Have you got more?

ARRON WOOD: We've got more. Let's go take a look.

JANE EDMANSON: Good.

It really is a stunning display.

ARRON WOOD: Isn't it? It's just beautiful.

JANE EDMANSON: Oh.....

ARRON WOOD: It bursts out at you, this colour.

JANE EDMANSON: It does. It sort of hits you in the eye - and I really like it how you've got the profile of Melbourne, the city, as a contrast.

ARRON WOOD: Yeah right on the doorstep of such a built up area and this all came about because we were inspired by the Birrarung Marr meadow. It was just such a massive success and you know...people taking selfies and social media and we really, I guess have been emboldened to try this right across the city and bring these flowers into the heart of Melbourne.

JANE EDMANSON: Why choose the avenue with the Elms?

ARRON WOOD: We had this blank canvas really cause the drought that hit these beautiful elms so hard meant that we had to mulch under there to really retain that moisture, so what we were left with was these kind of dull areas under these beautiful elm trees - just a perfect place to plant these flowering meadows, so you know, it was a great opportunity and we've taken it.

JANE EDMANSON: And how many have you got planted?

ARRON WOOD: We planted 10,000 in the first year to really trial it and it was a real success. Now you've got 90,000 flowering this year.

JANE EDMANSON: Wow. How long did that take to plant out?

ARRON WOOD: Well it was a real labour of love, so there were 6 people who actually planted by hand, every single one of those bulbs. Took them 3 weeks to actually put them all in, so a real labour of love, but what a great result.

JANE EDMANSON: You've got a whole series of daffodils here that represent the early and the mid and the late flowering - just a fantastic array of colour and this is one that I really do like. That's called 'Accent' - Narcissus'Accent' (pink Daffodil). It's pretty isn't it with the corona that's pink.

ARRON WOOD: Really beautiful.

JANE EDMANSON: Yeah, it's lovely.

ARRON WOOD: I think Jane, my 21 month old would think a little fairy lived in there.

JANE EDMANSON: Yes! It's perfect.

Spring flowering bulbs really put a smile on my face. They are so joyous. If you've got a large amount of room, you can plant them and then let them naturalise - they will flower on and on for years. Don't worry though. If you've only got a small space, put them in pots. They're equally as good.

Now in this day and age, the breeders are coming up with amazing colours and amazing shapes. Have a look at this one. This is called 'Replete' ( Narcissus'Replete'). See how it's a double and it's an amazing thing. It looks a bit blousy to my way of thinking, but interesting.

I haven't talked about fragrant daffodils and jonquils. This is a jonquil called 'Erlicheer' - quite magnificent. If you pick a bunch of those, put them inside, the whole room fills up with fragrance.

This is one of my favourites. It's called Narcissus'Golden Lion' - a true traditional daffodil - yellow with a wonderful single trumpet. And have a look at that! That really is a host of golden daffodils. It's called 'Mary Bohannon' ( Narcissus'Mary Bohannon'). Isn't that a corker!

So Arron, what is next?

ARRON WOOD: I'd love to see more of these meadows pop up, right across Melbourne and we might have a wooded meadow planned for our next project.

JANE EDMANSON: And is that more native inspired?

ARRON WOOD: Yeah that is and that's something that people are really excited about - to see what we can do with natives. We've seen what we can do with these beautiful daffodil meadows....what can we do with our good old Australian natives.

JANE EDMANSON: It is that thing of just bringing a little bit of joy into the city, isn't it?

ARRON WOOD: Yeah, I mean, you know....on a dull day, people are trudging in to their workplace and they see this burst of colour and maybe that brightens their day and I think that's great and I want to hear what Melbournians want to see for their next project. What do they want to see in terms of the next meadow that we plant? That would be a great thing to hear.

JANE EDMANSON: So get in touch with you and on you go with the next one?

ARRON WOOD: Absolutely. I'm waiting by the phone Jane, ready to hear from them.

JANE EDMANSON: I have been really inspired by this project and it's great because I've seen lots of people getting outdoors, seeing the beauty in the daffodils, so I'm going to take a selfie and I'm going to join in the conversation because it shows just how much flowers are important in a city.....that is if I can use this fangly dangly thing!

Ah ha!

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Jane Edmanson JANE EDMANSON: Today, I'm here at the Fitzroy Gardens where I'm seeing how the city of Melbourne is creating a flower-filled future. Last year, I met Arron Wood who is chair of the City of Melbourne's environmental portfolio.

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A Stanford-led study finds quantifiable evidence that walking in nature could lead to a lower risk of depression. 2 minute decription of the study and its findings.

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Stanford researchers find mental health prescription: Nature

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Take 10 minutes to sit comfortably and count the number of pollinators that land at your chosen spot.

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Ever wondered what pollinators visit your favourite flowers? Take 10 minutes, sometime in our count weeks, to watch flowers in your garden or local park and take note of what you see! Then enter wh…

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Video: Dadirri Inner Deep Connect to Land

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Video: Dadirri Inner Deep Connect to Land

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Inner deep listening and quiet still awareness and waiting.

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DADIRRI (Official Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Video) :: 3 minute promo

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This is a 22 minute instruction video that some students may find relaxing.

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Mini Origami Pot Plant / Succulent Tutorial - Cute DIY - Paper Kawaii

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Free online support, resources, andcouncelling.

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If it's an emergency

eheadspace is not an emergency service so if you're in an emergency situation or need immediate assistance, contact mental health services, go to your local emergency department or call emergency services on 000. If you need to speak to someone urgently, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline 1800 551 800.

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headspace has a range of ways to support you online or by phone. You can get support for your mental health by simply creating a headspace account.

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Gardening Australia: Sensory Garden for Healing

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Gardening Australia: Sensory Garden for Healing

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The Friends' Sensory Garden at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne is a really drought resilient garden and it also plays a vital role in the rehabilitation of the patients.

Steven Wells is a horticulturalist and a garden therapist at the centre's acquired brain injury unit. He's also a registered nurse and he decided to establish the garden in 2003, bringing together his two professional skills.

"The main aim of the sensory garden is to stimulate the senses. Our patients are people that have had an acquired brain injury and we want to enhance their rehabilitation by creating a space that stimulates their senses, memory and mood to improve health.

"It's a garden that has fragrance, different textures, colours, shapes and aromas. Different things for different people will stimulate senses and bring back memories.

"For many, to be able to do normal things, and things that they have done before, is actually quite reassuring and a step in their recovery," he says.

Before Steven started working on the garden there were solid walls and harsh elements around the space. He wanted to change that into something that was pleasing to the eye.

"We had a big open space and a fantastic ash tree, and that was a great focal point. So, from a design point of view, I wanted to break it up into smaller spaces within a big space," he says.

Within the sensory garden there are four main areas. The focal point is a lovely, sunny, paved area, where clients and the staff can have a cup of tea or coffee. The main focal point is a beautiful Fraxinus 'Aurea', or golden ash.

Fragrance is the essence of any horticultural therapy garden. In the sensory garden there is a lovely little area called herb alley. The herbs are planted either in pots or straight into the garden bed, to give different height levels and this is important so that even people in wheelchairs can lean over and smell and touch the herbs.

Another favourite is the peppermint geranium Pelargonium tomentosum with its soft texture and beautiful pepperminty smell. There are also mints - the common mint and the apple mint - but another really interesting plant is cherry pie or Heliotropium arborescens. It's got a vanilla smell and is nearly all the time in flower.

There are also pots filled with vegetables and herbs, like parsley and chives and silver beet, and these have signs which say "eat me" or "smell me", because that's exactly what people are encouraged to do.

A semi-circular area is called the inner sanctuary and it's made of a frame of willows so that you can partially see through it, and eventually the mop top Robinias are going to grow over as a canopy. It's a quiet area, simply furnished, with a little water feature and a few butterflies.

The fourth garden feature is Steven's favourite. It's a rainbow wall that is designed to draw people through the garden. It's sculptural, and also has bright colours throughout the year.

Steven says the garden has created a sense of activity, and has given people who use it a real lift about what we do to enjoy our workplace and to help the clients we're working with.

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The Friends' Sensory Garden at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne is a really drought resilient garden and it also plays a vital role in the rehabilitation of the patients. Steven Wells is a horticulturalist and a garden therapist at the centre's acquired brain injury unit.

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Angus Stewart

ANGUS STEWART: This is Ross and Leanne Craze. They run a busy small business from home near Campbelltown - about 50 kilometres southwest of Sydney. Consulting on issues of mental health and social policy, their business is a member of Beyond Blue's 'Head's Up' initiative, working to create mentally healthy workplaces - including their own.

What are some of the pitfalls of working from home?

LEANNE CRAZE: There's no separation between work and home and so we can just work very long days...you know...16, 18 hours day if we're not careful.

ANGUS STEWART: Tell me a bit about your work with farmers.

LEANNE CRAZE: It was at the height of the drought. New South Wales farmers wanted us to go out and talk with farmers about their stress. It was really ironic. That particular period of our work was full-on. The itinerary that we had, was punishing. I came away from that, really aware that I wasn't in fact, looking after myself and that I wasn't picking up on my own stress.

ANGUS STEWART: As it turned out, the solution to their problems was just outside their front door.

LEANNE CRAZE: We're just so lucky to live on this beautiful Campbelltown Golf Course and what we realised... that once we got stressed, if we just left what we were doing and came out into the plantings, pulled a few weeds, checked on how things were going and just sucked in the fresh air.

ROSS CRAZE: It's about sustainable working...so you can extend your working day or life and at the same time, get great ideas while your brain is just free-wheeling while you're doing some gardening.

ANGUS STEWART: So how do you structure this into your day or is it unstructured?

LEANNE CRAZE: It can be both. If we've been up and just constantly at the computer screen, you know, one of us will say, 'let's just have a break.' Other times, it's precipitated by not getting anywhere and so we realise - ok...stress is huge, let's down tools and let's come out, pick up different tools and then we can go back in and we're much calmer.

ANGUS STEWART: Now Ross, the planting here's going really well. How did it all come about?

ROSS CRAZE: Well we used to watch all this water just career down the hill, through the pathway and into the lake and it was so sad to see so much water disappearing, so we thought we'd do an experiment where in the gap there, we just filled up a mound of dirt and then over planted it with natives and mulch and basically stopped the flow of water whenever it came down the hill.

ANGUS STEWART: How did you go about choosing the species?

LEANNE CRAZE: Well we did some research cause we'd moved up from down near Canberra - we didn't know what was native to the Cumberland Plains, so we wondered over to Mount Annan Botanical Gardens and then we got on the internet and got some books out and had a look around the area.

ANGUS STEWART: You've got some classic Sydney Grevilleas here.

LEANNE CRAZE: Yeah, we've got the White Spider Flower ( Grevillea linearifolia) and the grey one (Grey Spider Flower - Grevillea buxifolia). We're very proud of this area because it was just a dumping ground and we've just turned it into this lovely native garden.

ANGUS STEWART: What started as a mental health circuit breaker, has now grown into something much bigger.

ROSS CRAZE: The next thing we knew, the council saw what we were doing and they got all positive and said, 'Come on guys. Sign up and volunteer for the Bushcare here.'

LEANNE CRAZE: So we started what's known as the 'Glen Alpine Golf Course Bushcare Group.'

ANGUS STEWART: So how many beds would you have planted by now?

ROSS CRAZE: I reckon we've planted at least 10 beds of varying sizes.

LEANNE CRAZE: And we've probably planted thousands of trees and bushes....

ROSS CRAZE: Thousands.

LEANNE CRAZE: ... and wildflowers.

ROSS CRAZE: So many.

LEANNE CRAZE: It's been great.

ANGUS STEWART: Not only have Ross and Leanne created a workplace that sustains their mental health, they've done wonders for their local golf course.

Yes! An easy game!

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Angus Stewart ANGUS STEWART: This is Ross and Leanne Craze. They run a busy small business from home near Campbelltown - about 50 kilometres southwest of Sydney. Consulting on issues of mental health and social policy, their business is a member of Beyond Blue's 'Head's Up' initiative, working to create mentally healthy workplaces - including their own.

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How nature helps us feel well and calm

Things we can do outside in the natural world

Using our senses to enjoy nature

It includes a student challenge and a collection of related resources that you can explore.

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Learning Levels & Victorian Curriculum Links:

Personal and Social Capability

Levels 7 and 8

How to distinguish between productive and unproductive help-seeking and other coping strategies when responding to challenge or adversity; strategies for peer support and empathetic communication when others encounter challenge or adversity VC2CP8S02

Health and Physical Education

Levels 7 and 8

Participate in physical activities that utilise community spaces, outdoor environments and aquatic settings safely, and evaluate strategies to support the increased use of these spaces VC2HP8M06

Levels 9 and 10

Participate in and evaluate physical activities designed to enhance health, fitness and wellbeing VC2HP10M05

Participate in physical activities that promote health, safety and social outcomes in outdoor environments and aquatic settings to design and evaluate participation strategies for themselves and others   VC2HP10M06

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Make a nature mandala or sculpture. Let your creativity have fun with this activity and remember this is about enjoying every part of the process.

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What this video on nature journalling. Go outside with paper and drawing materials and find a lovely spot in nature to draw.

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be inspired by nature  for teens  ‘Commissioned by Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria’