2.1+Grow+a+good+mood

__ Grow a Good-Mood __ One program we are running at our school is called "Grow a good mood". Our aim is to cherish and celebrate all the garden gives us. In particular we are focusing on ways the garden makes us feel good. Anyone that visits our garden comments on how beautiful it is. This made us think of ways we can capture this beauty. As many of our students are intregued by the camera and the act of capturing images we used this interest to capture and share the beauty of the garden through a card collection. To tie in with this idea we also started collecting flower and follage bunches to randomly give out to staff at the school. We are learning about the feelings evoked when we give and those felt by the person recieving our gifts. To support this exercise please read by WILSON McCASKILL who runs "Play is the way" as a strategy for teaching personal and social capabilities. //“Being kind to others, whether friends or strangers, triggers a cascade of positive effects – it makes you feel generous and capable, gives you a greater sense of connection with others and wins you smiles, approval and reciprocated kindness – all happiness boosters”//

Below you can see a basic lesson summary.

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Celebrate Horticultural Therapy Awareness Week 8 term 1 2013 (18th- 22nd March) by getting involved and enjoying our garden.

Being outside, whether gardening, exercising, or simply taking a stroll, is a great mood booster. If you feel like your energy levels are dropping or you’re just too stressed out, plant a good-mood garden. Horticultural therapy involves the use of plants and plant-related activities to improve the body, mind and spirits of people. Using horticulture as a therapeutic and rehabilitative treatment for people with special needs, horticulture has become a universally accepted and effective tool in improving the quality of life of those served. Active horticultural therapy involves enabling gardening for all. Raised beds, planting tables, accessible paths and sensory plants allow people of all ages and all abilities to participate in horticultural activities. Passive horticultural therapy involves creating healing, meditative, contemplative and sensory gardens to offer solace and pleasure to all. Horticultural Therapy offers cognitive, social, psychological and physical benefits to all.

EAT IT Get the benefits not just of a little garden therapy, but of all the healthy foods linked to lower rates of depression. Certain vegetables and herbs are rich in antidepressant compounds and minerals that can do everything from taking the edge off a bad day to curing full-blown depression. Spinach for example is packed with magnesium, a nutrient essential for the biochemical reactions in the brain that boost your energy levels. In fact, magnesium deficiency is a common condition among people diagnosed with clinical depression. Cherry Tomato skin is rich in lycopene, a phytonutrient that actually stops the buildup of pro-inflammatory compounds linked to depression. Because lycopene lives in tomato skins, the best way to get it is through cherry tomatoes, whose smaller surface area means you'll eat more skin than if you eat a full-size tomato.

SMELL IT Nostalgic Smells: For most people, specific odors can trigger vivid memories and nostalgic feelings — and if the memories they evoke are pleasant ones, "they'll lower your stress level and improve your mood," says Alan Hirsch, M.D., assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Make scented playdough, cookies or a recent study endorses freshly baked garlic bread: Family members felt so much more content when the aroma of garlic bread was in the room, they made 23 percent fewer negative comments at the dinner table.

SEE IT Get out in the bright Light "Spending time outdoors is ideal”. When light enters the eye, it stimulates the brain to produce serotonin. This triggers a cascade of chemical changes in the brain that significantly improve mood.

TOUCH IT Mood-boosting Bacteria Found in Dirt. Even if you don’t love gardening, digging in the dirt may be good for your health—-and it has nothing to do with a love of nature or the wonder of watching things grow. The secret may be in the dirt itself: a bacterium called Mycobacterium vaccae that acts like an antidepressant once it gets into your system. That’s right. A living organism that acts like a mood-booster on the human brain, increasing serotonin levels and making people feel happier. It was accidentally discovered about 10 years ago, when Dr. Mary O’Brien, an oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, tried an experimental treatment for lung cancer. She inoculated patients with the killed bacteria to boost their immune system. It did that, but it also improved her patients’ emotional health, vitality, and general cognitive function. These studies helped them understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health. They also leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all be spending more time playing in the dirt!

GROW IT Ever Grow The Plant That MOVES When You Tickle It? Imagine the amazement of your students when their living TickleMe Plant™ closes its leaves and lowers its branches as they tickle it. Materials:• TickleMe Plant™ Seeds• Flower pot or cup with hole on the bottom• SoilDirections:1. The day before you plant your seeds, soak them in warm water overnight.2. Fill a flower pot or cup ¾ of the way with soil.3. Plant three to five seeds by covering them with 1/8 inch of soil.4. Water your seeds gently.5. Place your newly planted seeds in a room that receives bright light or sunlight for part of the day.6. Temperatures in the room should be above 70 degrees.7. Water before the soil dries out.8. That’s it! Your plants will begin to grow in less than a week.The first two leaves will not be ticklish. In about three weeks, the second set of TickleMe Plant™ leaves will appear and they will move when you tickle them. TickleMe Plants™ are best grown as house plants and can even be placed in a bright location outside during the warmer months. They are frost sensitive, so be sure to bring them inside before the cold weather arrives. The sensitive plant seeds of the TickleMe Plant grow to produce beautiful pink cotton puff ball flowers.TickleMe Plants™ can live for a year or more and grow to about one foot plus in height. Native to Brazil, TickleMe Plants can be found growing wild there and in other tropical areas. The scientific name for the TickleMe Plant™ is Mimosa pudica. It also has been called shy grass, sensitive plant and other names throughout the world.To learn about the natural history of the TickleMe Plant™ go to [] or []to get seeds in Australia go to Shipards Herb Farm catalogue [] it is sold asMimosa pudica seeds.

Visit the Secret Garden (Richmond) The Secret Garden & Nursery is a not-for-profit community garden and nursery set on five beautiful acres at the University of Western Sydney campus in Richmond, NSW. Members of the community are welcome to use the gardens and enjoy the farmyard animals and purchase plants from the nursery. The Secret Garden also offers training and educational programs for the whole community in horticulture, permaculture, animal husbandry, vegitable and fruit production and specialised engagement and training opportunities for school children and people with a disability. The therapy garden offers a safe, supportive and educational environment where people with mental illness and other disabilities can learn horticultural skills through the "Food for Thought" program. The sale of plants grown in the nursery help finance this successful project. Come along and enjoy the rambling gardens, take your pick of our huge selection of plants, commune with the ducks, chickens, sheep, pigs & rabbits or just enjoy the environment and have a picnic. Proceeds from plant sales at The Secret Garden & Nursery fund the Food for Thought program for people with mental illness and disabilities. The garden is self-supporting and reliant on plant sales. We receive no recurrent government funding. North West Disability Services who manage the project, are a not-for-profit, community organisation, a Public Benevolent Institution and a Charity. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. All donations in cash, in kind, as goods/services or volunteering are very welcome and greatly appreciated. College Drive UWS Richmond How to Find Us : The Secret Garden & Nursery is located on the grounds of the University of Western Sydney in Richmond. Enter via College Drive from Bourke Street, Richmond. Turn right down the dirt road at the security hut and follow The Secret Garden & Nursery signs. Call 0414 784 460Email: enquiries@nwds.org.au

For those interested History of Horticultural Therapy The Therapeutic influence of plants dates back to ancient Egypt when physicians prescribed walks in the garden for their patients. In 1798, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and professor at the Institute of Medicine and Clinical Practice in Philadelphia, acknowledged that laboring in the field helped alleviate madness in one of his patients. He noted in 1812 that 'digging in the garden' was one activity that often led to recovery for patients in mental hospitals. During the late 1800's, horticulture gained acceptance as a means of easing the stressful lives of low-income inner city residents and of teaching individuals with developmental disabilities. In 1879, Friends Hospital in Philadelphia built what was thought to be the first greenhouse in the United States to be used exclusively with the mentally ill. In the early 1900's, the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas incorporated plants, gardening and nature study as an integral part of the patient's activities. Following World War II, with the establishment of the veterans hospitals, volunteers and member of the National Council of State Garden Clubs engaged the recovering soldiers in a variety of plant, flower and garden-related projects. Today there are Horticultural Therapy programs throughout the world designed to adapt horticulture to meet the special needs of all people