Overview #
This case study explores the relationship between nature interaction and adolescent mental health and wellbeing through the ‘Plant Play’ programme. It was delivered in gender-based violence hotspots in South Africa’s Gauteng province. Rather than framing mental health support explicitly, the team used nature-based, non-clinical engagement to explore emotional resilience and psychosocial wellbeing among vulnerable youth aged 10–15.
Abstract #
Adolescent mental health has emerged as a growing global concern, with diagnoses affecting roughly one in five young people worldwide (UNICEF, 2019). In South Africa, a nationally representative study found high rates of probable depression, anxiety, and adverse childhood experiences among young people (Craig et al., 2022). Social marketing, which applies marketing principles to drive behaviour change for social good, plays a recognised role in addressing health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Existing research links nature exposure to improved mental health and wellbeing.
The Plant Play programme explored whether caring for a plant over a 13-week cycle can support emotional resilience and psychosocial health among children aged 10–15, without framing the programme as a mental health intervention. Participants received bulbs, soil, and planters to grow a Hyacinth plant, and REPSSI trained facilitators guided them weekly through reflections on growth, resilience, and care.
The programme used a mixed-methods approach across 200 participants from five schools. This combined pre- and post-intervention surveys with storybook journals, group reflections, focus groups, and facilitator interviews. The team obtained ethical clearance and secured informed consent from guardians and assent from participants before starting the programme.
As a pilot, the team is still analysing the data. The research aims to investigate how plant care influenced emotional wellbeing, resilience, self-awareness, and coping skills. It also explored whether these effects varied by age, gender, culture, or socio-economic background.
Access #
Zonja Penzhorn (zonjapenzhorn@gmail.com), Human Nature Africa
Case study video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWolKDRDass/
Location #
South Africa
Key words #
Adolescents, mental health, wellbeing, nature-based intervention, nature interaction, plant care, WSMC conference 2025
