Over the last 50 years, studies have demonstrated the healing effects of nature. It has been shown so far that connection to nature reduces stress, improves cognition and positively influences mental and physical well-being overall. 

The natural world provides a setting conducive to a journey of restorative recovery.

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). 

As landscapes of healing, the following case studies further explain how landscapes for healing can come in a variety of forms and functions. While a majority of healing gardens are located within a hospital setting, those case studies were minimized in order to extend the parameters.