Okay, I give in. Lots of websites are posting suggestions for resolutions; I might as well jump on the New Year’s Resolutions Bandwagon with my own recommendations. Not surprisingly, these have to do with creating landscapes that facilitate health and well-being. So, my 2010 resolution suggestion:
Resolve to create restorative outdoor space for yourself, your family, and even your community.
Maybe it’s a space on your property – your deck, your yard, your garden – that could be better utilized to be a healing space. Allow yourself to dream about what would make that space more special, more conducive to you connecting with nature rather than just storing the grill and fretting about the unmowed lawn.
And perhaps you can take that inspiration out into the community as well: Maybe there’s an underused park, or an empty lot in in your neighborhood that could be transformed into a green space that everyone could enjoy and benefit from. Or perhaps a local school, or a nursing home, or community center has a bit of open space that could be transformed into a green haven.
Sometimes the idea of creating a restorative space is daunting, because we imagine that we don’t have the funds, or the design skills, or the knowledge to make it happen. I can assure you that the most important ingredient is resolve – a commitment to making things better. Once you’ve got that, then the rest will fall into place. And the Therapeutic Landscapes Network can help with the rest. Happy New Year!
Oh, and if you’re wondering why the spacing is so weird on this post, the answer is: I don’t know. That’s why my resolution is to finally switch to WordPress in 2010.
Landscapes for Health
Resolve to Make Your Yard/Garden/Park a Restorative Space
December 30, 2009
Therapeutic Gardens Bloom in Senior Living Communities
December 2, 2009
Aging in Nature – It’s Never Too Late to Play Outdoors!
November 21, 2009
In my next few posts, I’m going to focus on the over 60 set, as there’s a lot of great research and design about therapeutic landscapes for seniors. This is such an important area of our field. Having access to and being active in the outdoors is good for everyone, but I would venture to say (backed up by research) that it’s especially critical for the youngest and oldest generations.
Blog Action Day ’09: Climate Change and the Nature of Nature
October 14, 2009
Today is Blog Action Day, and the subject of this year’s Blog Action Day is Climate Change.
Hm, what do therapeutic landscapes have to do with climate change…? Well, apart from the obvious (green spaces mitigating the built environment), here are some thoughts:
Why is nature, and our interaction with it, so restorative? Erich Fromm, and then E. O. Wilson, called it “biophilia,” the attraction to life. Research by environmental psychologists has shown repeatedly that people respond especially well to plants and water. The more heavily planted the garden, the more positive the outcome for the users (in other words, people using the garden feel better when there is more, rather than less, plant material). The ideal ratio is 60% softscape (plants) to 40% hardscape (paving, etc.). The presence of water also seems to have a positive effect on people.
Of all of the elements of nature, why especially plants and water? Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:
We know, intuitively, that we need nature – and especially air (oxygen), plants, and water – in order to survive. And thus we experience them as beautiful, and comforting, and inspiring. Being in the presence of plants and water makes us feel good because we know that they sustain us. They don’t need us (in fact, they would be better off without us, by all accounts). But without them, we would quickly perish. Without oxygen, water, and plants, our planet would not be earth, that beautiful blue sphere that you can see all the way from the moon. Plants are living, breathing things. They not only symbolize life; they are alive. And through their living and breathing – as they breathe, taking our carbon dioxide and replenishing it with oxygen – we breathe and are sustained. And one big thing that we have in common with plants: they, too, need water in order to survive and thrive. Which is maybe why we respond so positively to water, its sound, sight, even smell and taste. Water = life.
To most people, plants and water are beautiful because they embody life. And in a world where there is a goodly amount of ugliness, pain and suffering, beauty is a comfort because it reminds us that life is worth living. Beauty is comfort and inspiration because beauty is life.
Design Inspiration from the Huntington Children’s Garden
Sorry about the formatting on this post – didn’t quite make it over well from our old blog post address.
This year, the American Horticultural Therapy Association‘s annual conference took place in Pasadena, and we were so fortunate to have the Huntington Library and Botanical Garden as our host and conference setting. Designers of children’s gardens for healthcare could take a few (or more) pages out of the Huntington Garden’s children’s garden. I’m going to keep the verbage to a minimum with this post and simply provide you with images from my recent visit to this inspiring place of discovery, learning, and play.
Myriad fountains. Upon seeing some leaves in one fountain (see the short video below), a youngster (probably about ten years old), exclaimed, “Look at the leaves are swirling around in the fountain! That’s so COOL!”
This sculpture might look a bit imposing for a children’s garden, until you see – or I should say hear – it in action.
Morton Arboretum’s New Children’s Garden
October 12, 2009
Nature Makes Us Nicer!
October 6, 2009
Image courtesy of Sarah Olmsted at Imagine Childhood
Nature makes us nicer. And more community-oriented. And more generous. I know, some of you are thinking “Duh-uh, we knew that all along.” Well, now you have your proof.
A new study by the University of Rochester found that even after just looking at pictures of nature, people felt closer to their community, were more willing to give money to a charitable cause, and cared more about social outcomes than they were after looking at “man-made” scenes. Researchers explain that connecting to nature also helps people to connect to their basic good values. Just imagine how much more exponentially multiplied the results would be if people were to experience nature in person rather than just by looking at pictures. See the Treehugger article for the full story.
So go on, pat the bunny! Imagine Childhood is one of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network’s Wonderful Sponsors. Visit their website and show them some love. The have all sorts of wonderful things to make the most of you and your kids’ outdoor experience, and Sarah’s blog is filled with beautiful images of nature. One of these days, I’m going to buy the same camera that she has.
And if you’re feeling generous after reading this post, donate to the TLN. We will put your gift to good use! Here’s another picture for inspiration:
Full citation: Weinstein, Netta, Richard Ryan, and Andrew Przybylski (2009). “Can Nature Make Us More Caring? Effects of Immersion in Nature on Intrinsic Aspirations and Generosity.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, October, Vol. 35: pp. 1315-1329.
Dirtworks’ David Kamp on “Nature for Everyone” at NYBG
October 5, 2009
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has a great lineup for their Landscape Design Portfolio series this fall.
On October 26th, David Kamp, Principal of Dirtworks, PC will lecture on “Nature for Everyone.” David will begin with an overview of the concept of creating restorative spaces and will then outline the collaborative approach used to incorporate nature, healing, and design. It will also explore specific site design issues unique to “special needs” populations. Several internationally recognized projects will be presented, notably the Elizabeth and Nona Evans Restorative Garden and the Keene State College Natural Sciences Courtyard. Dirtworks has been a long-standing member of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, listing their firm with our Designers and Consultants Directory.
The next talk, on November 2nd, is Walter Hood on “Sampling and Enmeshing the Urban Landscape.” I admire Walter’s work because not only are his designs aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating, they are also humanly functional; he has a knack for listening to the clients and the community he’s designing for. Walter recently won the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in the category of Landscape Design.
For 90 years, The New York Botanical Garden (www.nybg.org) has been helping people achieve their horticultural education goals. Many students are career changers who come to the Garden from a variety of occupations including marketing, information technology, law, and medicine to explore horticulture job opportunities. The Garden offers 500 different courses each year comprising seven certificate programs.
The image above is of the Natural Science Center Courtyard at Keene State College in Keene, NH
Guest Blog Post by Shawna Coronado: Ball Horticulture Teaches Employees How To Tend To Nature and Their Health by Building a Community Garden
September 11, 2009
Almost there! Therapeutic Landscapes Network gears up to launch new website
- improved searchability and richer imagery;
- an expanded Designers and Consultants Directory;
- an expanded Directory of Therapeutic Gardens;
- sponsorship opportunities for businesses and organizations to promote their products, services, and expertise;
- an integrated blog (website and blog all under one virtual roof);
- an interactive Network Forum where members can meet and share information and ideas;
- and more information than ever before on gardens, landscapes, and other green spaces that facilitate health and well-being, for an even broader global community of designers, health and human service providers, educators, students, gardeners, and nature enthusiasts.
- Email us at info@healinglandscapes.org if you’d like to list in our Designers and Consultants Directory or be one of our fabulous sponsors.
- Sign up here (or with the form in the right-hand column – same thing, different look) to become a member and get on our mailing list. It’s free, and we’ll put you on our newsletter list so we can tell you right away when we launch the new site.