The Research Team

Our team continues to research essential questions and gaps within the scientific literature working with research institutes. Researching the latest science to design the best possible nature-wellness solutions.

Many disciplines have an academic and professional interest in how people plan, design, engage with and manage outdoor and natural environments.  These include health fields (medicine, psychology, physiotherapy), natural environment (philosophy, science, ecological, natural resource management) and built environment (architecture, horticulture, landscape architecture, planning and urban design). Despite these common interests, engagement between such disciplines and working together to achieve mutual goals is often low.

Our research approach aims to address this significant gap by facilitating and enabling cross-sector understanding and applications through research that works alongside industry groups, government, practitioners and the community to provide access to action-based research, evaluation and applied development capability.

Developing practical applications that can be roll-out across community, industry and government. 

To learn more about our research, please CONNECT.

The Research Team

Associate Professor Peter Davies

Peter Davies is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Planning at Macquarie University. His research draws on more than 20 years’ experience in state and local government and consultancy.

Dr Miles Holmes

Miles is a professional facilitator, anthropologist and nature connection mentor, who has been working with groups in the outdoors for over 25 years.

Professor Maria Kangas

Professor Kangas is a registered Psychologist with dual endorsements in Clinical Psychology and Counselling Psychology and endorsed supervisor with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Dr Kath McLachlan

Dr McLachlan comes from a strong background in the community development sector, particularly in regional settings, as a Practitioner, Educator and Researcher.

Waminda Parker

Waminda is a strategic planner and program manager with 20 years experience of building multidisciplinary programs that translate innovative concepts into executable plans. 

Associate Professor Mel Taylor

Associate Professor Mel Taylor is an Occupational Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Organisational Psychology team at Macquarie University.

Ross Wissing

Ross is an experienced landscape planning, design and management professional with over a 25-year proven track record of delivering integrated sustainable solutions in the grey and green infrastructure.