The perceived restorativeness of gardens

Natural environments have been found more restorative than built environments but studies have also highlighted mixed built and natural environments. The aims were to examine the perceived restorativeness of gardens, and evaluate the performance of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, PRS, when applied to two examples from the same mixed built natural scene type rather than to a contrast between built and natural. The results show that the gardens are perceived restorative and the PRS also proved itself capable of discriminating between the two gardens. This points to the PRS being a useful tool and emphasizes the shortcomings of broad scene type definitions. The results show that one scene type can include environments that are significantly different in perceived restorativeness. This underlines the need to collect data on a greater number of both different scene types and examples within every type, as well as to have more controlled definitions of content and scene types to understand the relationship between the physical expression of a place and its potential of being restorative. The results show that the PRS is sensitive to place characteristics at subscale level, showing a high Being away score for both gardens and a Scope score that differed substantially. The results show a high correlation between restorativeness and preference

On the use and experience of a health garden

During the last decades an increasing amount of research suggests that a stay in a natural environment could reduce stress and help people restore. Furthermore, several decades of horticultural therapy have shown good outcomes in treating for example post-traumatic stress symptoms. Aiming at developing a new kind of therapy that combined the use of restorative natural areas, with therapies such as horticultural therapy and traditional occupational therapy, the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden was designed and built in 2001. The intention is that the garden, with its combination of possibilities for experiences and the different activities conducted within the therapy, should be considered a supportive environment and a health promoting part of the therapy. The main objective of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of health garden design, which can be used by, for example, landscape architects commissioned to design gardens with the intention of being used to promote health. The aim is to explore how the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden is used and experienced in order to develop a deeper understanding about this kind of mixed built and natural environment. The theoretical framework in the thesis is presented with a focus on the relation between health and the surrounding natural or built environment as well as gardens and their relation to health promotion. A multidisciplinary approach is used, where case study methodology is the overarching methodology, and the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden is a single-case. Within the case study other methods, for example interviews and participant observation, have been used as sub-methods. The mixed built scene type of gardens is perceived as restorative, and the findings about the experience are discussed in relation to preference, safety, refuge, compatibility and rootedness. Regarding the use, the results are discussed in relation to the findings of introvert and extrovert walks and also in relation to the mechanisms behind a restorative experience. When comparing the results, refuge, safety and walking are notions that stand out as important. This case study broadens the discussion on the significance of this scene type and how designers can work with health design. Keywords: case study, environmental psychology, healing garden, landscape architecture, nature, restorative, scene type, supportive environment, walking

COST strategic workshop : health and the natural outdoors - final report

There is a convincing evidence base that confirms the benefits to human health and well-being of close contact with nature, animals and plants. A COST Strategic Workshop was held in April 2007 in Larnaca, Cyprus. Its purpose was to identify the extent of knowledge in this field and the implications for policy and for future research. The Workshop found that nature-based approaches can contribute significantly to health objectives in Europe by ensuring that people have contact with nature in their everyday lives and that nature would be an integral feature of health care environments and approaches. More effective coordination and communication of existing knowledge and understanding, combined with increased investment in new research, is necessary to capitalise on the benefits of nature-based approaches.peer-reviewe