About.
Our vision is to be a leading representative organisation for Australian Therapeutic Horticulture.
Our mission is to foster and support evidence-based, ethical and person-centred therapeutic horticulture in Australia and develop a robust, professional and ethical industry that is widely recognised, valued and utilised.
THA National Committee.
Leigh McGaghey
President
Leigh lives and works in Sydney where she designs restorative gardens for private clients, together with consulting for horticultural therapy services in aged care, multi-residential dwellings and across the community.
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Leigh and her psychologist husband established Wired for Nature in 2018 to complement traditional psychological counselling strategies with horticultural therapy practices and other nature engagement activities.
Leigh lives and works in Sydney where she designs restorative gardens for private clients, together with consulting for horticultural therapy services in aged care, multi-residential dwellings and across the community. Leigh and her psychologist husband established Wired for Nature in 2018 to complement traditional psychological counselling strategies with horticultural therapy practices and other nature engagement activities.
Tanya Bearup
Vice President
Tanya is a social worker and horticultural therapist and is the founder of “My Garden Space” a social and therapeutic gardening service based in Melbourne, Australia.
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Stay tuned.
Tara Graham-Cochrane
Past President
Tara is an internationally award-winning Landscape Architect who specialises in the design of healing and therapeutic landscapes for the healthcare, aged care, disability and education sectors across Australia.
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Tara is a strong believer that physical environments can be designed to reduce stress, improve health and to support people’s wellbeing.
Residing in Adelaide, SA, Tara is the Director of DesignWELL Landscape Architects, a landscape architecture firm that specialises in therapeutic landscapes. She has a passion for enabling people to connect with nature through therapeutic horticulture and is a founding member of THA. Prior to THA forming, Tara was President of Horticultural Therapy S.A and has been strongly active in bringing together the therapeutic horticulture community in South Australia. Tara understands the importance of the physical environment in the lives of older Australians and is the S.A. Environmental Design Consultant for Dementia Training Australia. A government funded organisation who educates aged care providers on enabling and supportive care of people living with dementia. Tara is also the author of ‘Gardens that Care: Planning Outdoor Environments for People with Dementia’ and is well know around the aged care conference circuits as a speaker on dementia enabling landscapes.
Patrick Wain
Memberships
Patrick is a horticulturalist living and working on Wirundjeri Woiwurring land. He currently works as the Coordinator of Therapeutic Horticulture at Kevin Heinze GROW, a non-profit disability service provider working towards a vision of health and wellbeing through connection to nature and community.
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Patrick is passionate about the wellbeing and therapeutic benefits of gardening and nature for disabled people and the right of all people to have access to those benefits, and also has lived experience as a proud deaf and neurodivergent person.
Kate Coenen
Committee
With qualifications in garden design, horticulture and ecotherapy, Kate brings extensive knowledge to the therapeutic landscapes space. To those who are learning or keen to acquire more advanced skills, she frequently offers eco-therapy and design workshops, and often guest lectures at University of Melbourne and various garden clubs.
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She is highly experienced in landscape construction, having worked in a variety of locations including residential sites and public spaces (hospitals, schools, community projects etc). She is passionate and professional, bringing a high level of care and love to every project from her experience working with people of varying abilities and NDIS participants.
Netherlands-born Kate is the founder and director of Living Senses Group, a garden design, landscaping and ecotherapy business based in the leafy outer-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. With her team of designers and landscapers, Kate specialises in designing and creating landscapes with therapeutic appeal, assisting people in joyfully reconnecting with nature.
Sponsors
THA Sponsorship opportunities allow organisations and businesses with an interest in therapeutic horticulture the opportunity to connect with those working in the field and promote their offerings to an Australian and growing International audience.
To register to receive our sponsorship prospectus, please email: secretary@tha.org.au