06/11/2021
As some of you may be aware, over the passing months, we have been preparing and showing off a collection of Bonsai Trees grown by Above and Below Horticulture.
The time has come to shed some light on what has been happening and why.
Over the past 2 years now, we have all been feeling the effects, in some way, of what Life has been throwing at us all. Whether this be from suffering a loss due to the extreme weather patterns we have faced, or the pandemic which has crippled so many normal ways of life, from the ability to work, be with friends or loved ones, and even just the ability to partake in day to day social activities that help connect us all as a community.
In hindsight to the past 12 Months, Lifeline Canberra has surged in taking calls from those that are not coping with the immense pressure that Covid has brought into the world.
This is where we are stepping in.
Over the past Seven years, under normal operation of Above and Below Horticultures Garden Services, there had been a noticeable disconnection between a majority of those served, and nature itself.
While this disconnection may not be playing a part in the mental health challenges that are being fought in our community, the reconnection between Nature and Human beings, can be the vital step forward, into overcoming what one may be going through.
In the 2013 Mental Health Review Journal, 10 years after the initial study began, and after a further 10 inclusive peer reviewed study's where reported, the findings were simplified to this;
"Findings
Ten papers published since 2003 met the inclusion criteria. All reported positive effects of gardening as a mental health intervention for service users, including reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants described a range of benefits across emotional, social, vocational, physical and spiritual domains. Overall the research was of a considerably higher quality than that reviewed in 2003, providing more convincing evidence in support of gardening-based interventions."
Now where the Bonsai Trees come in.
To help our Mental Warriors at LifeLine Canberra continue with the amazing services they have to offer, we will be raising funds on their behalf, by selling off a collection off 66 Bonsai Specimens, as a means of helping those really reconnect with nature.
By bringing the scale of care down, over a small period of time, you can begin to watch how nature takes shape to its surroundings. By learning how to alter the structure of the tree, you can relearn the symbiotic relationship that we have with all living organisms.
Rather than dominating nature, we can work with it, to create and express ourselves through a natural art form.
Taking the lessons of growth, patience, and care into consideration, we can take what has been learnt and apply it to our mental state, and begin reshaping how we want our minds to work.
This will not be a blind journey however, Above and Below Horticulture will be here whenever you need their assistance or guidance in Tree and Plant care.
A lot of the Specimens sold for this cause are ready for your personal touch. pre trained for roughly 6 to 7 years for most plants, they have just enough charisma and altered structure, to spark the ideas of creativity for where they go from here. To say a tree does not need to look like a tree, to be perfect, is understatement.
Creating a unique and personally grown specimen can teach one great lesson to the mind, and that is, we are all individual. We are not meant to fit in to an idea of what others have for us, we are to show the world what strengths we have, how they are unique to us, and what we can do with them to make the world a better place.
For now, a total of 66 Specimens will be added, at a rate of roughly 7 per week, to our online store.
The sale will continue to raise funds, until the 12/12/21. Of which then we will be looking forward to handing the funds over as ammunition against Mental Health to Lifeline Canberra.
Thankyou All for any support given for this cause.
You may have saved the life, of someone you will never meet.
