The Soil to Supper Therapeutic Gardening Program is a unique initiative that offers participants the opportunity to improve emotional wellness and physical health, learn new skills, develop confidence and enhance social connection through garden-based activities and growing fresh food.
The gardening program guides and supports participants to follow gardening methods in a safe setting to enhance overall health and wellbeing. This includes fun garden-based activities with simple techniques, information and guidance to learn skills, grow fresh food and enhance health within the participant’s home garden or a community organisation.
Activities include discovering dirt, planting seedlings and shrubs, homegrown foods, growing new plants, composting, nature art, harvesting and cooking, plus loads more! These are suitable for all abilities from the beginner gardener to seasoned green thumb and are customised to suit the need of individuals.
One-on-one or group sessions are available from 2 to 3 hours, either weekly or fortnightly, and include a range of activities that are scheduled to suit participant’s aims for wellbeing and to provide outcomes for their NDIS plan or for the goals for organisations.
The current NDIS Pricing Arrangements line items are followed for the program and charged at the appropriate hourly rate plus provider travel to participant’s home.
For organisations, please contact me to discuss your needs for group programs and in-home care clients.
For more information and bookings please contact me HERE.
The benefits of Cath Manuel’s therapeutic gardening groups can be seen on the faces of our residents who attend her weekly sessions in our Memory Support Unit.
Living with dementia can make daily activities challenging and frustrating, so it is beautiful to watch the group laughing and interacting together, reminiscing about gardens they have tended to in the past. For many of them, the feel of the soil between their fingers has unlocked gardening skills that have remained hidden in recent years.
To have seedlings to care for and gardens to water has provided a purpose for them again. The feedback from staff and relatives has been incredibly positive.
I look forward to Soil to Supper gardening sessions with Cath being outside in the garden helps my physical and mental wellbeing.
I enjoy sowing seeds, propagating, planting seedlings, watering, watching them grow, mulching, keeping the compost going. It’s all part of the cycle of life in the garden.
Therapeutic gardening program a veritable lifesaver…
There is no doubt in my mind that Cath Manuel’s Therapeutic Gardening Program has been one of the most significant positive influences on my recovery from Major Depression and General Anxiety Disorder.
From the initial planning session onward, Cath uses a collaborative approach to the creation of my weekly gardening sessions. Developing the program to meet my physical, mental and emotional needs appears to come natural to Cath.
My active involvement in planning ensures that I get the maximum benefit from every gardening session. Initially I was capable of limited input to this process however with Cath’s increasing knowledge of my needs and limitations, and using her horticultural knowledge and experience, she was able to draw on my gradually returning capabilities.
Over time I was more confident and increasingly able to contribute to the planning process.
I value our weekly, two-and-a-half hour gardening sessions immensely and eagerly look forward to them. The program naturally varies from week to week, depending on the seasons, vagaries of the weather and tasks needing attention.
Being such a “hands-on” activity, gardening can be exhausting and satisfying both physically and mentally… and therein lies the reason why Cath’s Therapeutic Gardening Program has been, and still is, an absolute winner and a Godsend for me…
A very big thank-you Cath.
