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Blossom in Nature

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Blossom in Nature

This page is devoted to the benefits of children being in natural environments and exploring, discovering and being curious. We all know that saying, right? Wow!

If fact we all can benefit from going out into the garden and just being still and noticing. From little things big things grow. Hi my name is Elizabeth Hensby and back in 2008 I was working as a Christian volunteer with a not for profit Charity called Children with Hope. CWH was an organisation concerned with teaching the Carers of Orphans and Vulnerable children how to better care for them. I wa

s an Early Childhood Teacher lecturing at our conference in Bangkok on Child Development and Child Behaviour. It was during this time the founder of CWH and fellow lecturer asked me if I could deliver a workshop on how play could be used to help in therapy. As an EC Teacher I understood the value of play and that “Play is Children’s work” (Fred Rogers). So I began to research the concept of the benefits of play for the use of therapy. By now the work I’d done in developing countries taught me that the key to a better future and the way out of poverty was Education. But I had also witnessed the ripple effects of poverty. If a children had been traumatised due to lack of food, water, shelter along with abuse or abandonment then they were not going to learn anything. Rather they were stuck in the flight or fight survival phase of brain development and usually very angry or had given up trusting humans. They needed help and support to process their life experiences. And so it was that I discovered a form of Psychotherapy called Play Therapy. It was a light bulb moment . Since then I have studied a Post Graduated Diploma in Play Therapy as an off shore student with Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK ( 2010 - 2014). During that time I moved to the foot of the Blue mountains and worked in the Penrith and Blacktown suburbs of Sydney between 2012 - 2016 and accrued over 670 hours of client hours. My employment with Bridging the Gap in St Mary’s saw me not only work as a registered Play Therapist with Private clients but also in partnership with Wesley Mission -Brighter Futures program, Family and Community Services, and various Long Day Care Centres in the Nepean district. I also run a Wellbeing classes in a local Primary school at St Clair. In more recent years I have taken a break from full time work in the mental health profession and returned part time to the Early Childhood profession and have re-joined the organisation ‘Kindergarten Union’ in one of their Preschools in the Hornsby/ Ku-ring-gai area. One of the influences in the Early childhood industry is the north European concept of Forest Schools. WE now know the benifits of nature on the well being of children. Many Preschool have a ‘Bush Kinder’ focus. In 2017 I had the privilege of attended Claire Wardens Nature Pedagogy Training . And so another light bulb lit up. What if therapy could be held in Nature? It was around this time while watching an episode of “Gardening Australia” on the ABC that they introduced someone called Steve Wells who is a Horticultural Therapist. You could have Therapy and be in Nature. And so with the recommendation of the governing body Therapeutic Horticulture Australia (THA), I have completed my Certificate 3 in Horticulture at Ryde TAFE (2020). So, that brings us to the present. My hope it is that you might join me in this quest to help our children. By providing a developmentally appropriate tools kit ( i.e. art, sand tray work, puppets, music and play), rather than talking therapy and use nature where appropriate, Play Therapy can alleviate stress, anxiety or trauma, to bring calmness into their life and provide a way for them to blossom and flourish again. I am so looking forward to meeting you and your child/ren. Let’s Play.

05/04/2025

Awe & Wonder
Light & Inspiration
The healing power of nature
🌳💚🌿

04/04/2025

Green space is vital for our cities. Will you join me in supporting this petition?

Support a Parramatta Botanic Gardens - Halt the Rezoning for High Rise

07/03/2025

A hour spent in the local Community Garden is always refreshing for the mind and soul. Here are a few of this mornings discoveries.

See comments with each photo

( Apologies for the slightly out of focus images. But the content is interesting).

18/02/2025

It's time to get your hands dirty! 😄😉 No, not metaphorically, literally.
Did you know its good for you? That's children and adults alike 💚🧑‍🌾👩‍🌾
The research has been a round for a while but here's a quite snippet from a recent article.
( photo source: Better House and Garden magazine Feb 2025)

06/02/2025

How wonderful to see an article on Therapeutic Horticulture. Blossom in Nature is a full Member of the Australian association Therapeutic Horticulture Australia . This article stars the one and only Patrick Wain of 'Kevin Heinze GROW' which based in Melbourne.

On a wim, I bought a mainstream house and garden magazine and got such a delight to see this article. Bravo & Congrats to Patrick and the team. I hope more people will begin to be curious and have a try at Therapeutic Horticulture for Wellbeing and as a mental health strategy. 🌼🌸🪻⚘️💚🌿

28/01/2025

Well said Karen Young - Hey Sigmund. I love your wisdom that shines through years of experience in your practice.

Working through anxiety is very applicable when it comes to nature based play. Through experience and encouragement, playing outdoors, climbing trees, jumping over logs, children learn they can concur held fears and anxiety until it just becomes second nature to them and a place they want to be. They Blossom in Nature! 🌿💚

New, hard, important, brave things will always come with anxiety. It’s the anxiety that makes these things brave.

The only way for kids to never experience anxiety is for us to never put them in front of anything growthful, new, hard, brave. They’ll never feel the discomfort of anxiety, but they also won’t grow and strengthen against it.

We’ll never get rid of anxiety and we don’t need to. The key to strengthening young people against anxiety lies in helping them feel safer with it.

Here are 3 ways to do that. First though, and most importantly, establish that they are actually safe - that they are relationally safe, and that they feel safe in their bodies.

1. Take avoidance off the table. Avoidance makes anxiety worse by teaching the brain that the only way to stay safe is to avoid. Little steps matter - any step, even the tiniest, is better than none.

2. Show them you can handle their anxiety and the big feels that come with it:

‘Of course you feel anxious. You’re doing something big. How can I help you feel brave?’

Or, ‘I know this feels big, and it feels like you can’t. I know you are safe and I know you can. You don’t need to believe it because I know it enough for both of us. I know you won’t believe it until you see it for yourself. That’s okay, that’s what I’m here for - to show you how amazing you are and that you can do hard things. I can take care of you through the ‘big’ of it all. What’s one little step you can take? Let’s take it together. And don’t say ‘no steps’ because that’s not an option.’

3. Help them understand why they feel the way they do when they are anxious, otherwise they’ll interpret sick tummies, sore tummies, racy heart, clammy skin, big feelings as a sign of deficiency or potential disaster. It isn’t. It’s a sign of a brain and body trying to protect them, at a time they don’t need protecting.

As long as they are safe, the need to avoid is often more about needing to avoid the thoughts, feelings, and physiology of anxiety, rather than avoiding the thing itself. This is why the physiology of anxiety will continue to drive anxiety until we make sense of it. ‘Hey Warrior’ will help you do make sense of it for them.♥️

07/12/2024

Another reason why Therapeutic Horticulture should be prescribed more often. 🌳🪴🌿

So I'm sitting in my car this week with the ABC morning radio on and on comes an interview with Dr Flavia Fayet- Moore. She is a researcher amongst other things who has discovered that there are micronutrients in the air like iodine, magnesium , zinc that the human body absorbs better into our digestive system better that the gut.

And guess where the best place is to get good quality air? Yep, in Nature! Go forest bathing, go for a walk in the bush, get into the garden, holiday in rural areas if you live in a city.
Love it!

Here is a link. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sydney-mornings/
Find Wednesday 4th December and forward it to 50mins in the program.

05/05/2024

It seems Blossom in Nature is not the only one think about the importance of Play. 😉🤸🌿

30/04/2024

Playwright George Bernard Shaw is reported to have said “We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”
At Blossom in Nature, we highly value the importance of free play on the development of childhood. Benefits such as learning and practicing social interactions like friendships, strengthening muscles while running, jumping and being active, developing an understanding of maths and science while out in nature. Added to this is the increase of Oxytocins (a pleasure hormone) which then inhibits the release of cortisol (the chemical that tells you there is danger and start the process of being alert).

And it is not just children who need to experience play. It’s adult too. Yep, you and me!!
Because when we are involved in creative play our stress chemicals are lowered, enabling us to deal better with stressful situations.

Blossom in Nature presented this idea in a recent workshop on the ‘Superpower of Play’ at Mosman Council. And I’ll ask you the same question. When was the last time you played?

Play for adults can be riding a bike, painting artwork, playing a sport, skydiving, play a charades with friends and have a laughter, swimming at the beach, going for a walk in nature to name a few. It’s whatever appeals to you. On a recent holiday, I went up the coast to a seaside town. Here are a few examples of how I chose to play in nature.

What about you? When was the last time you played and what did you do? Post a photo in the comments below.

11/04/2024

It was a great delight to present The Super- Power of Play workshop in partnership with Mosman Council yesterday, 10th April. The council work hard to take care of their community with a multitude of services. Many free. Blossom in Nature had the pleasure of collaborating with Jenny Schnieder, the Community Development Officer Children &Families.
Whilst it was a small cohort of Parents who attended the free workshop, the message of the need for children to have free child led play seemed to make a big impact with many of the participants asking questions afterwards.

The benefits of child led free play is limitless for children's development and as they prepare for adulthood and become citizens of the world.

Blossom in Nature is situated in Sydney Australia and runs workshops on topics such at The Super-Power of Play, Loose Parts, Therapeutic Horticulture and is an accredited trainer for Circle of Security International Parenting program.

These workshops are ideal for Parents, Educators, Teachers at Schools, Preschools, Playgroups or Church groups.

Contact Elizabeth at elizabeth@blossominnature.com.au to start the conversaion and get a quote.

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