The Western Metro Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre's new garden is demonstrating the importance of connecting with place, with people, and with self

“Even in the depths of winter, here, we are surrounded by flowers,” says Stuart Muir Wilson, an employee of Jesuit Social Services who has spent the last year cultivating a therapeutic garden space for our new Western Metro Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre in Sunshine, Victoria.

Brimming with native flowers, lavender, citrus trees and more, the newly opened garden serves as a space for both staff and participants of the centre, a support service for carers of people who are experiencing mental health challenges, psychological distress, or substance use issues, to decompress and connect with others. The Connect Centre’s team worked closely with Stuart, who coordinates our Ecological Justice Hub in Brunswick, Victoria, to collaborate on a space that bridges ecosystem design and service delivery.

“So much of the process of building the garden was derived from the lived experience of those carers, from both staff and participants. Talking to participants, learning with them and bringing them together. The garden is an example of how those softer skills (such as listening and relationship-building) can interact with more tangible skills (such as landscaping and permaculture) to facilitate place-making,” says Stuart.

Previously a parking lot devoid of any green space, the garden now has bird baths, picnic tables and 45 vibrant flower beds. It also includes 65 tonnes of soil, 15 different types of flowering and fruiting vines, five garden rooms, five canopy trees and over 450 plants. The space engages almost all the senses; colorful plants and flowers to gaze upon, birdsong to listen to, and aromatic herbs and flowers such as jasmine, lavender, rosemary, thyme and oregano to smell.

“Our sense of smell can really get us connected to memory and place. Those plants also function as food sources for native butterflies, so it brings huge swarms of them in. When you’re lost in a magic cloud of butterflies, you can’t not be happy.”

“What brings the garden project to life is seeing participants begin to use it for their own meaning and purpose, for their own therapy, for what they need to get out of the garden,” reflects Stuart. “Whether they want to plant a flower, connect with other people using the service or just simply rest and enjoy the sun and the sounds of nature, the team has made sure there’s something for everybody.”

“It’s these moments and sparks in time that I think must be cherished. A lot of these benefits can get lost in the quantitative data that drives a lot of decision making.”

Leanne Acreman, General Manager of Housing and Complex Needs, explains how the the garden provides an outside oasis for carers and their families whilst also diversifying the ways in which the Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre can engage with its participants. “Some settings can be more calming than others depending on people’s previous experiences. We are offering people a choice of how to engage with us and our services; whether you prefer an indoor or an outdoor setting, there is always a space for you.”

Nature-based therapeutic practice has been shown to have a variety of benefits to both the brain and body, including “the capacity to see things from a new perspective, feeling a greater sense of belonging to the world, and slowing down the part of the brain which narrows on thinking and ruminates,” says Bianca, Ecological Justice Project Officer with our Centre for Just Places.

Importantly, cultivating these types of spaces allows participants to connect with a sense of self that can often be lost when regularly caring for someone else.

“Sitting in nature has been shown to alleviate anxiety and help connect you to your body and mind,” says Bianca. “Understanding these benefits of engaging with nature when doing social justice work offers us a potentially transformative doorway to new forms of understanding ourselves and the individuals we work with.”

The garden has had a warm reception from the Sunshine community and beyond. “People are enjoying it and giving us feedback that they really feel listened to and heard, which is incredibly powerful for people who have been traditionally disempowered or disenfranchised,” says Stuart.

After a year of planning, designing, building and re-building, the garden has beautifully captured the essence of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect service. It is a triumphant amalgamation of small, but meaningful details. It invites us to not overlook the importance of connecting with place, with people, and with self.

When asked: “what do you hope people feel after walking away from the Connect Centre’s garden?”, Stuart replied, “Hope. I hope they leave knowing that there is hope in these gardens…that there is hope in these small moments.”