The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Therapeutic Garden Program delivers dedicated programs for patients and families at three specialised garden spaces at the hospital.

• The Kelpie Garden Space – accessible to children and adolescents with acute and chronic health issues.  
• The Therapy Garden South – accessible to RCH staff, and both inpatients and outpatients accompanied by staff.  
• The North Court Garden Space – accessible to patients, visitors and RCH staff.  

The programs include a combination of individual and group horticulture activities and creative experiences designed to distract from pain, decrease stress and provide relief. The gardens also offer a quiet, calming environment for patients, families and staff, providing an alternative space to the hospital wards.  

The RCH Therapeutic Garden Program is funded by philanthropy, including support from Woolworths through the Good Friday Appeal. Drawing on extensive research demonstrating the physical, mental and social benefits of providing patients with access to garden spaces, the RCH is extending the program, resources and accessibility of its gardens to reach more patients across the hospital. On average, approximately 60 patients per month benefit from the program. This extension is made possible with thanks to the generous funding support this program receives. 

This educational and therapeutic initiative is led by a multidisciplinary team including child life therapists, garden staff, and volunteers and aims to decrease stress for patients and their families, which helps to improve patient recovery. Beth Dun, Manager, Child Life Therapy at the RCH said that garden programs have great benefits for patients and families.

“The Garden Program will be incredibly beneficial for patients at the RCH. As well as giving them a place to breathe in fresh air, it can also be a welcoming space for children and young people from regional areas, who often find the city very intimidating,” said Beth.

Studies show that 95% of people who walk through hospital gardens report a therapeutic benefit. When hospitals provide easy access to nature, patients experience a reduction in stress, blood pressure and pain, while also experiencing an increase in pain tolerance, and faster recovery times. The social element of garden therapy allows users to feel empowered and more engaged.

Contact with nature helps hospital staff and family members more effectively deal with the stress of providing care, which enables them to better serve those they are caring for. Gardening provides a range of mental health benefits, including significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and improved social functioning.

“Gardening itself has many benefits for patients, including offering a safe, natural setting to participate in a non-clinical, fun activity that provides a welcome distraction from their illnesses. The use of familiar garden tasks that are simple and diverse offers patients the chance to feel successful as well as tasks that cater to different levels of capacity or energy.”

Impact Milestones

July 2023

• Employed a Therapeutic Garden Program Coordinator and a new full-time Therapeutic Garden program staff member. These staff members are developing the workplan to deliver the new vision, including increasing wheelchair accessibility, increasing shaded garden spots to create calm spaces for therapies, and increasing the number of patients who can access the program and garden spaces.  
• Commenced diversifying the plant species to provide sensory experiences for all patients – providing colour, touch, smell and feel.  
• Undertaken consultation with clinicians and treatment teams to tailor the garden spaces to meet the therapeutic goals of a diverse range of patient needs.  
• Received volunteer support from corporate teams and the RCH volunteer program.

November 2024

• The program has provided and hosted sessions for patients across five different wards: cardiac, oncology, rehabilitation and two for eating disorder patients. 
• Patient referrals have been received from a further five wards: Cockatoo, Kelpie, Sugar Glider, Koala and rehabilitation outpatients. 
• Mindfulness and wellbeing sessions for staff have been run in conjunction with key events like wellness weeks.  
• Ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the three therapeutic garden spaces.  
• Installation and commencement of the Kitchen Garden Project which has meant food may be picked by patients and herbs are picked by the hospital’s food services.  
• Commenced a research project in conjunction with the Allied Health Research team on transforming allied health with nature, resulting in a presentation at an Allied Health symposium.  
• Continuation of diversifying the plant species to provide sensory experiences for all patients – providing colour, touch, smell and feel.  
• Strengthened partnerships with clinical teams to encourage outdoor clinical sessions.  
• Continued receiving volunteer support from corporate teams and the RCH volunteer program.