blog « Therapeutic Landscapes Network

ASLA 2012 – Several events related to health and well-being

July 13, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Banner Good Samaritan Health Center. Photo by Brice Bradley

Time flies, and it seems to fly even faster in the summer. Fall is just around the corner, and seems to be a big conference season, so stay tuned for more blog posts on events. Many thanks to Filiz Satir who has been helping with these events postings.

Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in the number of education sessions, tours, and even keynote speakers (e.g., Dick Jackson AND Esther Sternberg in 2010) at ASLA conferences (and Healthcare Design, and Environments for Aging, etc.). I think it’s an encouraging indication of the growing interest in landscapes for human health and well-being, and also a credit to leaders and members of ASLA’s Healthcare and Therapeutic Design Professional Practice Network.

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Wordless Wednesday 7/4/12 – Floral fireworks

July 4, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Butterfly weed (Asclepias curassavica). Photo by Naomi Sachs

“Down to Earth”: 2012 Intn’l Geographical Union Congress

July 3, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

32nd Congress meets in Cologne, Germany, August 26-30
With a session on “Plants, play and place.”

In August, the International Geographical Congress will meet in Cologne, Germany. The IGU Congress will combine the traditional meetings of the IGC Commissions with a wide range of sessions addressing four key topics:

Global Change and Globalisation
Society and Environment
Risks and Conflicts
Urbanisation and Demographic Change

The 32nd Congress is about bringing research “Down to Earth.” Attending geographers will bring their wide-ranging perspectives and methodology on the four major themes, thereby contributing to the solutions of urgent scientific and socio-political issues.

The IGC is a congress of the International Geographical Union (IGU) that takes place every four years. In 2004, the German Geographical Society (DGFG) together with the Geography Department of the University of Cologne successfully applied to host this year’s event. To learn more about the IGC Congress visit them online.

Of particular interest to TLN members will be this session:
“Plants, play and place: Green Environments as a contribution to children´s healthy development,” with chairs Silvia D. Schäffer & Christina R. Ergler. See https://igc2012.org for the full list of conference sessions.

Keep Calm and…

July 2, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

A little over a month ago, I moved from the lush, verdant Hudson Valley in New York to the hot world of College Station, Texas (haven’t been here long enough to use any more adjectives than that). I’ll be starting the PhD program at Texas A&M University’s College of Architecture in the fall, focusing on (surprise!) access to nature and evidence-based design. TAMU’s Center for Health Systems and Design, founded by Roger Ulrich, is one of the best in the country. I’m excited, as well as daunted, by this new adventure.

In the meantime, I’m settling in and spending most of my time writing a book on therapeutic gardens in the healthcare setting with co-author Clare Cooper Marcus, to be published by John Wiley and Sons in 2013.

Many people, when I tell them about this new direction (which isn’t new, it’s just going deeper into what I already do) ask what will happen to the Therapeutic Landscapes Network. I can assure you, the TLN website, blog, and community will remain active. Blog posts may change shape, they may become more sporadic, they may include more voices from guest bloggers. This all remains to be seen. In the meantime, keep calm; the TLN is alive and well and we’re as committed and excited as ever to “connecting people with information…people…nature.”

Stay tuned for the next TLN Newsletter, available free to all TLN members. Click on this link to sign up: www.healinglandscapes.org/resources/newsletter.

Please join us on Linked In, Facebook, and Twitter to connect and share information, questions, and ideas with the thousands of fantastic people in our Network.

All the best,

Naomi Sachs
Founding Director, Therapeutic Landscapes Network

(Image courtesy of the Keep Calm Shop: http://www.etsy.com/people/KeepCalmShop)

Wordless Wednesday, 6/20/12 – Summer Solstice

June 20, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Sneezeweed. Photo by Henry Domke, http://henrydomke.com

Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

Happy Summer Solstice!

Wordless Wednesday, 6/13/12 – Common buckeye butterfly

June 13, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Common buckeye. Photo by Andrea Fox, http://grwhryrpltd.wordpress.com/

Common buckeye. Photo by Andrea Fox, blog author of Grow Where You're Planted

Visit Andrea Fox’s blog, Grow Where You’re Planted, for more beautiful photos and insights.

Nature and Well-Being: Lecture series at the Bloedel Reserve

June 8, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Reflecting pool, Bloedel Reserve. Photo by Henry Domke, http://henrydomke.com

Reflecting pool, Bloedel Reserve. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

During June, Puget Sound’s Bloedel Reserve will put the spotlight on nature and well-being by hosting a series of lectures. Throughout the month, experts from diverse disciplines will explore the unique relationship between nature and humans, and the healing and therapeutic qualities of landscapes and gardens.

Our founder Prentice Bloedel was fascinated with the relationship between people and plants, often writing eloquently on the subject, as he designed the gardens and landscapes of The Reserve. In June, we are bringing together experts from many disciplines to explore the unique relationship between nature and humans, and the healing and therapeutic qualities of landscapes and gardens.

The Bloedel Reserve is a public treasure that sits on 150 acres of natural woodlands and landscaped gardens just a short ferry ride away from downtown Seattle. In addition to interconnected paths, a Japanese garden, a moss garden, and a reflection pool, visitors will find the Bloedel’s former estate home. The Reserve was created by Prentice and Virginia Bloedel who resided on the property from 1951 until 1986. A man ahead of his time, Prentice Bloedel had an abiding interest in the relationship between people and the natural world. The primary mission of The Reserve is to provide a tranquil, restorative and emotionally evocative experience of nature.

See this past Guest TLN Blog Post by Sally Schauman for more on The Bloedel Reserve as a Therapeutic Landscape.

For more information on this month’s Lecture Series, visit The Bloedel Reserve web site. Summer hours are extended for June, July and August: Tuesday and Wednesday, 10am-4pm; Thursday through Sunday, 10am-7pm. A short description of the lecture series follow. For a complete description of the talks and other classes at The Reserve, see the summer bulletin. To register for all the lectures that range from $10 to $15 per session, call 206-842-7631, or click on the Brown Paper Tickets.

The Bloedel Reserve Lecture Series for June is as follows:

Friday, June 8 at 4:30pm
Every Step a Healing Step (lecture & guided meditative walk)
Carolyn Scott Kortge, author, The Spirited Walker & Healing Walks for Hard Times

Sunday, June 10 at 2:00pm
The Restorative Power of Plants
Patty Cassidy, RHT, Horticultural Therapist & Gardener for Legacy Health Systems, Portland

Wednesday, June 13 at 10:00am
Healing Garden Designs
Daniel Winterbottom, RLA, FASLA, professor, Landscape Architecture, University of Washington

Thursday, June 14 at 2:00pm
Landscaping for Privacy: Innovative Ways to Turn Your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful Retreat
Marty Wingate, author & garden designer

Saturday, June 16 at 4:30pm
Therapeutic Design Adaptations for the Home Garden
Mark Epstein, registered landscape architect

Sunday, June 17 at 4:30pm
Art in Nature: The Therapeutic Effects of Nature Photography-A Personal Story
Charles Needle, photographer

Tuesday, June 19 at 10:00am
Leave No Child Inside: Reconnecting Children with Nature
Martin LeBlanc, founder, Children & Nature Network; Sr. VP, Islandwood

Friday, June 29 at 7:30pm
“Echoes of Creation” (Video screening & talk)
Jan Nickman, film & television director & cinematographer

Saturday, June 30 at 3:00pm
Restoration & Celebration — The Created World Around Us (lecture & guided meditative walk)
Christie Lynk, professor of psychology, Seattle University

3rd International Conference on Geographies of Children, Young People, and Families

June 7, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Tour guide, Peru. Photo by Gabriela Aguero from the Children Youth and Environments Image Collection

Geographies of Children, Young People, and Families

July 11-12, 2012, Singapore

Children’s geographies is that branch of human (cultural) geography which deals with the study of the places of children’s lives. In July, the 3rd International Conference on Geographies of Children, Young People and Families will take place in Singapore at the National University of Singapore. The conference is open to academics, postgraduates, and locally-based youth and childhood practitioners and workers.

Human geography and its subset of specialties focus on cultural norms and components and their variation across spaces and places. It focuses on describing and analyzing the ways language, religion, economy, government, and other cultural phenomena vary or stay the same from one place to another, and on explaining how humans function spatially. As in many other social science disciplines, children have not been a particular focus of concern in geography. There is a considerable body of literature dating to the 1970s that includes studies of children spatial cognition and mapping abilities as well as their access to, use of and attachment to place.

To learn more about the conference, registration, and deadlines for paper submissions, visit the conference web site. The organizers will offer substantial fee reductions for postgraduate students and part-time employees. Specific queries may be sent to Tracey Skelton (geobox7@nus.edu.sg), Conference Chair and Organiser.

Wordless Wednesday, 6/6/12 – Bearded reedling

June 6, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Bearded tit. Photo by Edwin Kats, http://www.edwinkatsphotography.com

Bearded reedling (or bearded tit). Photo by Edwin Kats, www.edwinkatsphotography.com

This photo by Dutch photographer Edwin Kats was very popular on the TLN Facebook page, so here it is as this week’s Wordless Wednesday photo – first WW post from my new home in College Station, TX. Visit ‘s website at www.edwinkatsphotography.com.

“Healthy Environments Across Generations” this week!

June 5, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

This week! Healthy Environments Across Generations conference

June 7 – 8, 2012
New York Academy of Medicine
New York City, NY

Addressing the environmental health aspects of how we live, eat, work, play, and socialize throughout life, and how we can transform our environments to promote health and prevent disease.

Please join us for a participatory conference that will bring together leaders and innovators from multiple sectors to:

Catalyze innovative approaches towards a systems-based approach to health across the lifespan;
Identify key intervention points and crosscutting environmental solutions to help reverse rising disease trajectories;
Develop intergenerational programmatic and policy recommendations/models that reflect an integrated approach to wellness; and
Create an ongoing network for collaboration to build healthier communities for all.

This conference is not an end unto itself, but a stepping stone for building a health-focused, multi-generational movement. We invite you to bring your energy and ideas to New York to help create our collective future.

Relevant to professionals and others working in or interested in the areas of health, food, nutrition, built environment, natural resources, environmental and economic justice, aging, or anyone interested in promoting health and preventing disease at all life stages.

Register now online at the New York Academy of Medicine website (www.healthandenvironment.org/news/conference/intergen2012).