The Benefits
BENEFITS OF OFFERING A CULTURAL GARDEN
Today’s children, particularly those who live in big cities, are affected by ‘nature deficit disorder’. They aren’t getting sufficient quality time in nature at school or in their local community.
The benefits of being exposed to funcional green spaces where children can play has been extensively studied and promoted throughout the years. Inviting children to interact with nature on a daily basis has been shown to have incredible lifelong impacts in many areas of their development.
Physical benefits
Enabling children to access wild spaces helps them build physical and emotional competence, and this space doesn’t need to be big for a very young child!
Natural obstacles and nature-based play areas encourage physical movement in children such as jumping, clambering, crawling, sliding, rolling and climbing, and are more engaging than indoor gym equipment.
When children have access to green space, they are more likely to participate in physical activity, which helps improve muscle and bone development, and maintain a healthy weight and develop physical resilience.
In other words, by offering a child green space to play instead of a concrete playground, they will develop better balance and coordination.
Health Benefits
Interacting with green spaces has been found to significantly reduce depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as improve mood balance.
Conducted by the University of South Australia, a systematic review that explored the impacts of nature play on the health and development of children aged 2-12 years found that nature play improved children’s complex thinking skills, social skills and creativity.
Children are generally more active outdoors, and they have increased freedom to move in different ways. This causes the brain to produce more serotonin, which regulates happiness levels. Physical activity makes children happier!
Gazing out of the window from time to time and seeing the glory of nature helps restore us after a little mental anxiety. The study also found that our attention levels are restored in the same way.
Learning benefits
Research had found that shifting some curriculum-based learning outdoors could greatly benefit students.
Greenery has been shown to improve students’ academic performance and promote childhood learning. Exposure to green spaces, particularly at schools, can lead to better cognitive development in primary school-aged children. A study of 851 Melbourne schools found academic performances in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and numeracy were better in schools in areas with more greenery.
More broadly, exposure to nature has been linked to enhanced attention, reduced ADHD symptoms, and improved cognitive skills in children.
Social benefits
Playing in nature teaches children valuable negotiation skills, including the concepts of sharing and friendships, which may contribute to healthy emotional and social resilience.
Encouraging children to try activities they might be a little afraid of helps them to become more confident and self-assured. They also get rid of built-up energy, enabling them to become calmer and more focused in the classroom. Playing and working in the garden also strengthens a sense of community and local connections.
It has been shown that, while children who grow up surrounded with more greenery are less likely to engage in aggressive behaviour. By increasing quality of life and boosting people’s health, gardening also strengthens a sense of community and local connections.
Psychological benefits
Proximity and exposure to green spaces significantly improves psychological wellbeing, with 27 per cent of depression cases preventable by spending at least five hours a week in nature.
The vast majority of children who take part in regular outdoor activities feel capable of trying new things, feel more confident in themselves, and have better relationships with their teachers and their classmates.
Cultural benefits
Learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, history and languages nurtures understanding, acceptance and pride in First Nations histories and contributions. It also helps develop empathy, breaks biases, stereotypes and myths, and generates safety and inclusion.
Offering students first-hand Indigenous Australian cultural elements can help foster a well-rounded knowledge of Australia’s First Peoples, provide a more accurate version of Australia’s history, impart important wisdom such as traditional fire management methods, plant uses and medicinal knowledge, as well as encourage respect for diversity and an understanding and appreciation of cultural difference.
Maintenance benefits
Indigenous plants have been on this land for eons and have adapted to this soil better than any other plants. They are tough and can withstand all the extreme weather conditions that Australia and its curious little humans throw at them.
Endemic plants are incredibly resilient and low maintenance. An Indigenous garden needs very little water and no fertilisers, and will thrive quickly, providing a wonderful space that’s easy to maintain.
However not all green spaces are the same. Poorly designed green spaces can actually have a negative effect on health. Choosing the wrong trees could add too much pollen in the air causing allergies, tree roots could damage sidewalks and underground infrastructure, or falling fruit could attract pests that you definitely don’t want around kids!
Connection to Country
There is a lot to learn from the ways First Nations cultures are connected to Country and live in harmony with their environment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures place great value on Country, understanding when Country is unwell it needs to heal, and the importance of listening to Country and what it needs.
Learning to connect with Country, particularly at a young age, helps to create caring, compassionate humans. It increases their understanding of valuing the land, of mutual respect, of maintaining balance, and of taking only what is needed to ensure the natural resources of the world are never exhausted.
Environmental benefits
Adding an Indigenous garden will not only have a positive impact on your community but on the broader community as well. And we are not referring to just your neighbours.
Adding a well-designed green space will help to improve the air quality in your area. It will help reduce traffic noise, improve air quality and will maintain a favourable climate, reducing the urban heat island effect, which occurs when a city experiences much warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas.
The inclusion of Indigenous plants helps mitigate soil erosion and water evaporation, and, as they are genetically adapted to the climate and geology of your area, they will not become weeds and will provide food and shelter for local wildlife.