World Social Marketing Conference 2025

The ‘Plant Play’ programme embeds psychosocial support into a naturalistic, non-threatening, school-based programme. Piloted in Gauteng GBV hotspot communities, the programme promotes child-led reflection, responsibility, and growth through the care of a non-food plant. Grounded in the theory of reciprocal healing between people and nature, the programme seeks to uncover alternative pathways to build youth resilience without reliance on explicit mental health framing, which may carry stigma or be inaccessible.