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the back story

Broadcaster Greg Boyd’s death by suicide in August 2018 affected me very deeply in ways I cannot explain.

Then a couple of months later I was suddenly called on to maintain suicide watch on somebody I thought I knew so very well, and in a million years I would never have thought I’d be watching over them like that. It was horrible – I could not connect with them at all.

About that time, I was introduced to the concept of Horticultural Therapy – literally that gardening helps the troubled mind.

After receiving a boot up the bum from an unexpected source (Rev David Hollingsworth, the Nelson Anglican Bishop’s Chaplin) to do something, I thought up the idea of Healing Horticulture.

Each day when I start my Horticulture classes (I am a Horticulture Tutor), I always ask my students: on a scale of 1 to 5, where one is terrible and five is brilliant, where are you right now? It was one day when a student, who said they were a one, sidled up to me after a couple of hours in the nursery to say, “Don, just to let you know I am now a three” that I knew I was making a difference.

All these things ‘preyed’ on my mind – and Healing Horticulture was conceived.

With the encouragement of my NMIT Boss (Pam Wood) I developed a 10-day course around the Horticulture Certificate Level 3 Soils module HRT 312. This was very successful, as the evaluations (which I have) indicate.

What shocked me was that if I took you into the class, and said: hey guys this is a friend who has popped in to say hello, that you would never guess in a million years which student I am most concerned about. What they were writing in their evaluation did not reflect the persona they were presenting in class (very outgoing). This has caused me to wonder how many other people are hiding behind masks out there?

I now find that in everyday conversations people are ready to open up.

Last year for Pink Shirt day, I was dared (by a ‘colleague’) to come dressed in my pink fairy outfit (not a pretty sight). Although I love the opportunity to wind people up, I was shocked by the fact I had 6 serious conversations (whilst in fancy dress) about bullying – and evidentially after I left the morning tearoom there was another very intensive discussion on bullying. My concern is, why did it take me to be dressed like the village idiot for people to feel comfortable to share their very personal stories with me? (Upon reflection, maybe its about showing vulnerability to enable me to reach out to others?)

For the past couple of months I have been mulling the new Healing Horticulture concept around – which can be seen in my Vision for Healing Horticulture 2021, or the shortened Executive Summary.

In moving out from under the NMIT umbrella, I am no longer constrained by assessments and registers. It was after discussing the Healing Horticulture project with the youngish lady in the tea rooms at Cheviot (on the way to Christchurch) that the weekend option was born. (She asked if I was a local, and could I run a course there?).

Hort Tutors meet annually for Moderation Purposes. Prior to the first Healing Horticulture course in 2019 I presented my plans to that group. I subsequently had 7 or 8 emails from those attending who wanted to know how it went. I believe there is a nucleus of a National Healing Horticulture Team there.

Today, when I showed one of my colleagues who is involved with providing evening educational classes for RSE workers the draft booklet, she asked if she could take the concept to her board.

In the last week alone, four students (who know my thoughts) sat down and poured their hearts out to me.

There is no doubt in my mind that there is a need out there. Whilst Horticulture is not for everyone, if Healing Horticulture only saves one person from falling off the cliff, then isn’t it all worth it? It’s all about the star fish on the beach story.

Don Cross

Healing Horticulture Facilitator