Evidence for the beneficial effects of gardening on mental
and physical wellbeing continues to mount; recent findings suggest it
can help lower anxiety, reduce depression, even help people recover
mobility after a stroke.

In this workshop, I explain why gardening
can be so good for us, and outline ways to build a garden that offers you
benefits physically and mentally.

Topics we’ll cover include:
• The importance of wild spaces for mental wellbeing (and how these
spaces are increasingly disappearing in our cities)
• How trees can affect the mental health of a community
• How to integrate more wild spaces into our community
• How we can use our gardens to build connections with our neighbours
• Seed sowing as a way of cultivating hope and confidence (plus tips
for successfully growing from seed)
• How to grow a sensory garden for mindfulness (and how sensory
gardens can help encourage your kids to join you outside)
• How growing our own food improves nutrition, builds community
and helps us give back to the environment
• How to start a community garden in your suburb (or ways to build
the one you’re already in)

About Casey Joy

I am a writer and passionate gardener living in Cottesloe in a little house with a rambling organic, edible and wildlife-friendly garden. I completed my PhD in psychology in 2019, but my first love has always
been the garden. My experience in academia has given me a passion for teaching and communicating and a drive to pursue scientific understanding in everything I do. These days, I apply that to my garden.