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Concerns about healing landscape design and its impact on children and adults alike has led to redefining outdoor spaces across various landscapes. Research has found that play has a significant role in a child’s healthy development (Moore, 2002), and a relationship to how children are able to manage trauma (St. Thomas and Johnson, 2007). Playful interactions with nature, other children, and play structures, as well as with adults and different materials available helps to stimulate the development of mind, spirit and body in a child (Moore, 2002).
Concerns about healing landscape design and its impact on children and adults alike has led to redefining outdoor spaces across various landscapes. Research has found that play has a significant role in a child’s healthy development (Moore, 2002), and a relationship to how children are able to manage trauma (St. Thomas and Johnson, 2007). Playful interactions with nature, other children, and play structures, as well as with adults and different materials available helps to stimulate the development of mind, spirit and body in a child (Moore, 2002).
For a successful design of healthy landscapes, the three key patterns are summarized below.
For a successful design of healthy landscapes, the three key patterns are summarized below.
Diversity of Natural Settings
Diversity of Natural Settings
Variety of plant species used for a outdoor healing space in Comer Children's Hospitalhttps://www.site-design.com/projects/ucmc-comer-childrens-hospital-playground/
Interaction with nature is key while designing an outdoor space for any type of landscapes.
Interaction with nature is key while designing an outdoor space for any type of landscapes.
There are three major elements of natural settings that have been identified and proven to provide opportunities for interaction with nature and act as a healing space: Greenscape, Bluescape and Animal-scape. The choice of plants in any landscape should have seasonal interest, sensory variety, play value, edible value, shade and screening qualities, and wildlife habitat value (Moore, 2002). Research shows that water is a popular play material and a strongly recommended childhood experience (Moore and Wong, 2000; Moore, 2002), and its use has proved to be beneficial across many landscapes as well. The significance of water is greater in healing gardens as it is the source of life (Moore, 2002). Animals are particularly fascinating to children and can offer powerful therapeutic effect (Myers, 1998; Moore, 2002). Consider possible habitat conditions for amphibians, insect life, and birds, such as habitat for fish, dragonflies, and damsel flies (Moore and Wong, 2000). Brush piles, fallen logs, rock piles, and other natural elements provide shelter to the wildlife (Acar, 2013).
Healing Landscapes should have a diverse setting including one or more of the elements mentioned above, with the diversity in plant selection, inclusion of water features, and provide an opportunity for interaction with animals.
Healing Landscapes should have a diverse setting including one or more of the elements mentioned above, with the diversity in plant selection, inclusion of water features, and provide an opportunity for interaction with animals.
Flexibility of Space
Flexibility of Space
Open lawns provides flexibility for different opportunitieshttps://www.landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/randall-childrens-hospital
Flexible landscapes provide children and adolescents with the choice of activity and thus, will help stimulate social interaction, recreation and retreat, providing a range of therapeutic activities.
Flexible landscapes provide children and adolescents with the choice of activity and thus, will help stimulate social interaction, recreation and retreat, providing a range of therapeutic activities.
Flexible space provides opportunities for social interaction, creating healthy attachments and a sense of connectedness, which is essential to stimulate therapeutic engagement. Ability to control the environment creates meaningful experience and helps to generate healing environments for children (Connellan et. al., 2013). Open spaces allow interaction of different age groups (Acar, 2013), and so does the location and configuration of seating (Moore, 2002). Close-knit spaces allow for retreat by oneself or in a group of few. Movable items provide choice in hands-on activities that will help to engage children and adults (Moore, 2002). This may include taking care of the edible garden or small-scale constructions, such as a garden sculpture, with recycled, low-cost materials or natural components (Acar, 2013). Similarly, integrating art in landscape can help to empower children and overcome trauma and grief (St. Thomas and Johnson, 2007).
The outdoor spaces should have variety of options ranging from open space to close-knit spaces, possibilities of hands-on activities to personalize the space and use them according to specific needs and requirements.
The outdoor spaces should have variety of options ranging from open space to close-knit spaces, possibilities of hands-on activities to personalize the space and use them according to specific needs and requirements.
Multi-Sensory Design
Multi-Sensory Design
NHA garden featuring several healing spaces including a labyrinth, reflexology path, outdoor yoga space and contemplative gardens https://dhmdesign.com/portfolio/true-nature-healing-arts/
Sensory stimulation helps to create a healing environment through curiosity and engagement where people can use their senses of touch, hear, smell and taste.
Sensory stimulation helps to create a healing environment through curiosity and engagement where people can use their senses of touch, hear, smell and taste.
Multi-sensory design of a landscape offers huge range of experiential choice through material, color and texture, which help emphasize sensory stimulation (Moore, 2002; Kent, 2015). Colors have powerful therapeutic effects, and children have their personal color preferences, which should be kept in mind while designing landscapes for them. Strong colors can be used in small spaces, whereas, in large, open spaces where most of the time is spent, muted colors or mood stabilizers should be used (Moore, 2002). Younger children tend to prefer distinct and warm colors (red, yellow and orange), while older children prefer prefer blue. Plant species with variation in color, fragrance and taste, various sound-producing instruments, and different textured surfaces or plants can contribute to the engagement of different senses (Moore, 2002). The layout of the spaces should give a sense of mystery and discovery which designers have achieved through use of curved pathways, level variation and vegetative buffers.
Landscapes, especially healing ones, should be able to offer different things to awaken visitor's senses through variation in color, material uses and textures of both natural and man-made elements that they can see, touch and smell aiding in therapeutic benefits.
Landscapes, especially healing ones, should be able to offer different things to awaken visitor's senses through variation in color, material uses and textures of both natural and man-made elements that they can see, touch and smell aiding in therapeutic benefits.
A walking loop around a lake with a fountain at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah provides the opportunity for more gentle or vigorous exercise(Photo Source: Chris Garcia (Kent, 2015))
A rock garden aesthetically designed for adults used for sitting and climbing over by children(Photo Source: Acar, H., Turkey (Acar, 2013)
Turtle sculptures as seating in children's garden in Legacy Emanuel Medical Centerhttps://healinglandscapes.org/blog/2014/01/gardens-in-healthcare-earlybird-registration-ends-21/
Children playing in a small garden streamhttp://www.bhgardens.com.au/pondless-streams/
Children creating a worm home with nature's loose parts(Photo Source: Nature Play at Home, 2012)
Children observing and feeling the texture of their surrounding environment(Photo Source: Nature Play at Home, 2012)
Sources:
Sources:
Acar, Habibe. 2013. “Landscape design for children and their environment in urban context” in Advances in Landscape Architecture. InTech. doi: 10.5772/55751
Allcock, A (2019) ESSS Outline: Healing environments for children who have experienced trauma. Iriss. https://doi.org/10.31583/esss.20190506
Browning, William, Catherine Ryan and Joseph Clancy. 2014. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health & Well-Being in the Built Environment. New York: Terrapin Bright Green llc.
Burls, Ambra. 2005. “New Landscapes for Mental Health.” The Mental Health Review 10 (1): 26-29.
Connellan, Kathleen, Mads Gaardboe, Damien Riggs, Clemence Due, Amanda Reinschmidt, and Lauren Mustillo. 2013. “Stressed Spaces: Mental Health and Architecture.” Health Environments Research & Design Journal (HERD) (Vendome Group LLC) 6 (4): 127–68. doi:10.1177/193758671300600408.
Eli Paddle, and Jason Gilliland. 2016. “Orange Is the New Green: Exploring the Restorative Capacity of Seasonal Foliage in Schoolyard Trees.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13 (5): 497. doi:10.3390/ijerph13050497.
Hitchcock Design Group. “Roger’s Memorial Hospital, Children and Adolescent Center Therapeutic Garden.” Accessed September 1, 2020. https://www.hitchcockdesigngroup.com/portfolio-item/rogers-memorial-hospital-children-and-adolescent-center-therapeutic-garden/.
Kent, Jennifer L. 2015. “Therapeutic Landscapes : An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces, by Clare Cooper Marcus and Naomi A. Sachs.” Australian Planner, no. 3 (September): 242–43.
Landscape Architecture Foundation. “Brent Elementary Schoolyard Greening: Phase 1.” Landscape Performance Series. Accessed August 26, 2020. https://www.landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/brent-elementary-schoolyard#/challenge-solution.
Moore, Robin C. 1996. “Compact Nature: The Role of Playing and Learning Gardens on Children's Lives.” Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture 8: 72-82. http://www.jstor.com/stable/44025358.
Moore, Robin C., and Herbert H. Wong. 2000. Natural Learning : The Life History of an Environmental Schoolyard : Creating Environments for Rediscovering Nature’s Way of Teaching. MIG Communications.
Moore, Robin C. 2002. “Healing Gardens for Children” in Healing gardens: therapeutic benefits and design recommendations, edited by Clare Cooper Marcus and Marni Barnes. John Wiley and Sons.
Negami, Hanna R., Robin Mazumder, Mitchell Reardon, and Colin G. Ellard. 2018. “Field Analysis of Psychological Effects of Urban Design: a Case Study in Vancouver.” Cities & Health 2 (2): 106–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2018.1548257
Ottosson, Johan. 2007. “The Importance of Nature in Coping.” Doctoral thesis, Landscape Planning, Horticulture and Agricultural Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Pretty, Jules et. al. 2005. “The mental and physical health outcomes of green exercise.” International Journal of Environmental Health Research 15 (5): 319-337. doi: 10.1080/09603120500155963
Project for Public Spaces. 2016. The Case for Healthy Places: Improving Health Outcomes Through Placemaking.
Raver, Anne. “The Doctor Is Out (and So Are the Patients).” New York Times, January 13, 2005. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/13/garden/the-doctor-is-out-and-so-are-the-patients.html.
Reed Hilderbrand. “Institute for Child and Adolescent Development Therapeutic Garden.” Accessed August 31, 2020. https://www.reedhilderbrand.com/works/institute_for_child_and_adolescent_development.
Rogers Behavioral Health Foundation. “Garden Therapy.” Accessed September 1, 2020. https://www.rogersbhfoundation.org/what-we-do/capital-projects/garden-therapy
St. Thomas, Bruce, and Paul Johnson. 2007. Empowering Children Through Art and Expression : Culturally Sensitive Ways of Healing Trauma and Grief. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
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