Hi I’m Cas, your Permaculture Nurse

Cas Tognarini is a creative meets academic designer working at the intersection of mental health, permaculture, and evaluation.

Cas is a permaculture designer, mental health nurse educator and PhD candidate. Cas partners with health professionals, health services, organisations and communities to design and evaluate gardens, programs and mental health care using ecological thinking, permaculture ethics and realist-informed evaluation.

The Permaculture Nurse’ work is grounded in contemporary, evidence-based mental health practice, informed by current research and driven by the conviction that everyone deserves health, resilience and joy.

Services

  • Cas designing in the garden

    Design & Redesign


    Permaculture-informed design and redesign of therapeutic gardens, nature-based spaces and mental health programs, grounded in ecological systems thinking, permaculture and human ethics

  • Evaluation & Learning


    Evaluation design, program theory development and learning-focused evaluation support for mental health, community health and social prescribing initiatives

  • Education & Capacity Building


    Targeted professional education for health workers and organisations, supporting ethical design, reflective practice and confident engagement with complexity

  • Advisory & Collaboration


    Selective advisory roles, concept review and collaborative involvement in research, pilot programs and funded projects

Alignment with permaculture ethics

  • Bananas

    People care

    Prioritising safety, dignity and relational practice

  • food forest

    Earth care

    Recognising the role of healthy environments in human wellbeing

  • Fair share

    Ethical use of resources and equitable access to care

“Care improves when systems are designed to support the people within them”

Cas- The Permaculture Nurse