Seniors

Access to Nature DVDs – Spring Sale!

Access to Nature DVDs

If you have not seen the terrific award-winning DVD series “Access to Nature for Older Adults,” this is your chance. To coincide with the Environments for Aging conference, this DVD series is being offered during the month of April at a significant discount (50% off!) for TLN members. We’ll be sending out an email on Tuesday, 4/5 to our members with a keycode to buy the discounted DVDs.

To join the TLN, just sign up for our mailing list. It’s free and you’ll get occasional newsletters, as well as discounts like these. On the right-hand side of this blog page, see “Get TLN Blog posts emailed to you!” Enter your email and click “Subscribe.” That’s it! But do it soon, the email with the keycode goes out on Tuesday, April 5th.

About the Access to Nature for Older Adults DVDs
The series was developed by Susan Rodiek and colleagues at the Center for Health Systems & Design, Texas A&M University.

This fast-paced and lively set of three half-hour videos includes dramatic images, professional narration, and a rich variety of site photos, 3-D animations, diagrams, sketches, and interviews with senior residents and world-renowned experts on this multidisciplinary topic.

(more…)

Environments for Aging is just around the corner!

TX wildflowers. By Naomi Sachs

Texas bluebonnets and Indian blanket flower. Photo by Naomi Sachs

The fantastic Environments for Aging conference is just around the corner…chronologically (April 9-12) and for me, geographically–it’s in Austin, TX! What a beautiful, fun, vibrant city for a conference. Not sure if the bluebonnets will still be blooming, but I’m sure other wildflowers will be. In fact, if you can take an extra day and go see the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, you will thank me.

I’ll be presenting with Susan Rodiek and Eric Bardenhagen on Sun, Apr 10 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM on “Planning, Designing, and Evaluating Outdoor Spaces to Optimize Usage” – see description below. And here are some other sessions I’m looking forward to attending. Hope to see you there!

(more…)

Environments for Aging Conference 2013

EFA13_banner

Annual Environments for Aging Conference meets in New Orleans

APRIL 6 – 9, 2013 | The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel

The annual Environments for Aging Conference meets in New Orleans, April 6-9, 2013. The three-day event offers the latest strategies and ideas for creating attractive and functional living environments that meet the needs of our aging population. Register now in order to receive early bird discounts.

Professionals attending — architects, design professionals, government officials and aging experts – will come together to share common goals in the areas of building, architecture and design. The conference offers networking opportunities with peers and myriad workshops in the latest innovations and best practices in the design of long-term and residential care settings.

(more…)

International Council on Active Aging Conference 2012

Japanese Maple. Photo by Henry Domke, http://www.henrydomke.com

Japanese Maple. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

“Many journeys, many destinations”

The 10th Annual Conference of the International Council on Active Aging will take place November 29 through December 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Attendees will be able to choose from among several educational sessions on active aging, the aging process, and disease prevention.

The ICAA Conference is the active-aging venue for professional development and informal learning. Sectors represented at the conference include the retirement, assisted living, recreation, fitness, rehabilitation and wellness fields, as well as government and academia. Connect with colleagues across the active-aging spectrum and build your knowledge network. 

(more…)

May is Older Americans Month

Senior hikers cross near a waterfall. Photo by Amriphoto

Senior hikers cross near a waterfall. Photo by Amriphoto

We’re never too old to play!

Children are not the only ones who reap health benefits from being in nature. Adults of all ages, including the eldest among us, have much to gain by routinely accessing the outdoors in gardens, parks, urban trails, and other green spaces.

For the past four decades, the federal Administration on Aging has promoted May as “Older Americans Month” as a way to encourage communities to sponsor activities and celebrations that keep elders, 62 and older, engaged, active and involved in their lives. “Never Too Old to Play” is this May’s theme.

As we age, access to hospitable, navigable and social environments becomes more important to maintaining overall health – fitness, flexibility, strength and social support. Numerous studies conclude that regular exercise helps elders to prevent falls and fractures; reduce their risk of strokes, heart disease, and some cancers; and lessen cognitive decline.

Read more about the health of  older Americans by visiting the Administration on Aging’s Older Americans  web page.

We’re not usually in the habit of referring people to business websites, but Must Have Play is a company that focuses on play and playground for elders, and they have some good information on the why’s and how’s: www.musthaveplay.com. And here’s a guest blog post by Must Have Play’s founder, Michael Cohen, on the Aging in Place website: “Have you heard? A playground for elders!

Planting Seeds for Culture Change – Hort. Therapy for Elders

May Apple. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

Two-Day Workshop Focuses on Horticultural Therapy for Elders

Planting Seeds for Culture Change is a workshop taking place in early May and late June in Grand Rapids, MI and Prescott, AZ, respectively (see below for dates).

The two-day training focuses on the use of horticultural therapy (HT) with elder populations from the “culture change” perspective.  In the hands-on workshop, attendees will gain skills to incorporate HT into care plans and learn strategies to enable elders’ full participation and gardening success. Instructor Pamela Catlin, has more than 30 years of experience providing  HT to elders. For more information regarding workshop content, registration deadlines and enrollment, visit www.htinstitute.org or call 303.388.0500. 

Locations and dates for Planting Seeds for Culture Change:

Friday and Saturday, May 4-5, 2012, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Porter Hills Retirement Community
Grand Rapids, MI

Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, 2012, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Margaret T. Morris Center
Prescott, AZ

Fee:  $290 (includes all materials and lunches)

 

Effect of Garden Walking on Elders with Depression

Photo by Naomi Sachs

One of our members, a hospice RN, sent me this interview with Dr. Ruth McCaffrey, DNP, Sharon B. Raddock Distinguished Professor in Holistic Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. It was originally published in the digest of the American Holistic Nurses Association.

How have you come to study garden walking for older adults with depression?
I have been working over the last three years on developing an evidence-based program using reflection during garden walking to increase life satisfaction and reduce depression. The work began as collaboration between the Morikami Japanese Museum and Gardens and myself. The Morikami has had many people write letters and tell them that the gardens had a healing quality and helped them in a time of great sadness or in a time when strength was needed. The garden designer has created several gardens in the Japanese healing traditions and uses the idea of nine healing elements in nature. We were able to apply for and receive a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services to create a research study with three different interventions, individual reflective walking, guided imagery walking and a comparison group who had art therapy. From that work we developed a book for use in an individual reflective walking program through the garden with a group session at the beginning of the walks, after three weeks and again after six weeks. This program has proved to be very successful and popular…

(more…)

Environments for Aging 2012 conference – A lot to offer!

Environments for Aging 2012

Wow! I just looked at the full list of Session Descriptions for this year’s Environments for Aging conference (4/21 – 5/1/12 in Orlando, FL) and it looks amazing. I’m so encouraged that there are eight presentations that mention or focus on access to nature in the title and/or description. Definitely more than last year – a good sign! And I’m sure many of the other presentations will touch on this subject as well. I went to EFA last year, and I was impressed with the caliber of the speakers, presentations, and attendees. If you are interested in outdoor environments for seniors, this is THE conference to go to. Here’s the full conference agenda, here is the full list of session descriptions, and here’s a link to register.

Oh, and if you register by this Friday, 1/27, you get a significant early-bird discount.

Read on for details on the 8 session that I think will be of particular interest to our members…

(more…)

Research Summary: “Investigating Walking Environments In and Around Assisted Living Facilities.”

Photo courtesy of Susan Rodiek

Walking is the most popular form of exercise for elderly people. Photo courtesy of Susan Rodiek.

Speaking of older adults (see our last post about Environments for Aging), a good article – “Investigating Walking Environments in and Around Assisted Living Facilities: A Facility Visit Study” by Zhipeng Lu – was published in the Summer 2010 issue of Health Environments Research & Design Journal (HERD). I wish I could provide a web link for you to access the free article, but alas, it’s only available to buy. So I’ll summarize the author’s points here.

At issue are the dueling needs of elderly people: The need for safety and the need for exercise and social connection. Lu states that “falls are the most frequent cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among community-dwelling older people.” Falling is a true risk and needs to be avoided. But as he (and others he cites) argue, exercise and social connection are both critical for maintaining physical and emotional health. Careful consideration of location/neighborhood, as well as design of indoor and outdoor pathways, can both reduce risks and enable elderly people to live active, healthy lives.

Lu first makes a case for the benefits of exercise – in this case, walking – for elderly people (people 65 or older), and asserts that “the physical environment plays a role in promoting physical activity.” Since walking is the most preferred form of exercise among elderly people, it makes good sense to see what types of settings best promote frequent and safe walking.” The design of walkable ALF environments has become more important because frail older people are increasingly averse to nursing homes and seek a higher quality of life and greater independent living in an ALF.” An assisted living facility, or ALF, as defined by the Assisted Living Federation of America is “a long-term care option that combines housing, supportive services, and healthcare for mentally and physically frail individuals.”

(more…)

Upcoming Event: Senior Neighborhood Nature Walk in Portland, OR

Innisfree, Millbrook, NY photo by Naomi Sachs

Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, NY - photo by Naomi Sachs

I’m still figuring out all the bells and whistles on WordPress, and for some reason, the “events” bell is eluding me. Therefore, the next few posts will be listings and details about several interesting upcoming events. Once I get things straightened out (suggestions from WP folks are more than welcome!), events will then be added to a list in the blog’s sidebar.

Senior Neighborhood Nature Walks at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center’s award-winning Stenzel Healing Garden in Portland, OR
Thursdays, Aug 19,  Sept 16,  Oct 21,  Nov 18, 2010, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
FREE.  No sign-up required.
Meet at the walking map sign.  We begin with a 20-minute garden tour followed by
a 60-minute escorted walk in the neighborhood to observe interesting plants,
heritage trees, architecture and more.
Why We Need to Walk More:
1. Walking helps you stay strong and fit. It helps increase bone
density, improves joint health, and increases muscle strength so you can continue
to do your daily activities.
2.Walking can lower health care costs. A daily walk could save you
more than $300 a year in doctor visits, hospitalization, and prescription drugs.
3. Walking can help decrease weight, body and belly fat. Women
who increased activity by an additional 3,500 steps a day lost 5 lbs in a year; men
8.5 lbs.

You can see some images of the Stenzel Healing Garden in this article from the Portland Longevity Examiner, “Legacy’s Healing Gardens,” by Micheline Ronningen

Questions? Contact Teresia Hazen at 503-413-6507 or thazen@lhs.org.