ECH social therapeutic horticulturalist Dean Gaston is CommBank Australian of the Day
WHEN horticulturalist Dean Gaston took a job in a rehab centre he discovered the healing potential of gardens and how they can help others.
BORN with a green thumb and a lifelong fondness for gardening, Dean Gaston was destined to
become a horticulturist. But it wasn’t until he took a job in an Adelaide rehab centre that he
discovered the healing potential of gardens and how he can use them to help others.
“When I was younger I thought gardening was ‘mow your lawns, do your edges and you prune a few trees,’” says Dean, 54.
“But in the rehabilitation centre I learned something completely different. We had a beautiful garden and there were about 150 people there recovering from various issues. People were drawn to the garden and suddenly there was social interaction, connections were made, attitudes shifted. The garden became a touchpoint.”
Since then Dean, has studied and practised social therapeutic horticulture. He’s also dedicated his
career to creating gardens and programs that bring people — often those who are socially isolated — together, and help them derive physical and mental health benefits.
Today Dean, the social therapeutic horticulturist at innovative South Australian aged care provider ECH, is CommBank’s Australian of the Day.
“They’ve recognised the value of gardens in health,” says Dean.
“We call them happiness gardens. I’m working with aged people, sometime people suffering
dementia, and I’m constantly seeing the benefits being in a garden has on people who have either become socially isolated, agitated, unhappy or dislocated.
“When I get people out in the garden they chill out. Whenever you’re in a garden, those feel- good chemicals in the brain start to flow. People start to relax; they talk more; they have fun; they go home happier; they sleep better; the blood pressure comes down — there’s all those amazing benefits.”
For Dean it’s a win-win.
“I love working outside, I love helping people and I really love gardening — so you put all those three elements together and you’ve got social therapeutic horticulture,” he says.
“It’s my dream job.”
CommBank has partnered with News Corp Australia to champion the Australian of the Day initiative which celebrates people in our neighbourhoods and communities who really make a difference to how we live and who we are.
You can read all their stories at australianoftheday.com.au, where you can also nominate someone you know.
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