Sharing nature with our children - Landscapes for Health and Well-Being

For our mental health and emotional well-being we need to spend time in nature. We need to stop and smell the proverbial roses. But for many people the problem is not that they don't want to stop but that they don't know how, or where. Where can they find some roses (or other attractive plant) and where is it sufficiently safe, quiet, attractive and offers a seat so we can pause a moment in our busy day?! Some families have not lived with access to a garden for 2 or more generations. What we once took for granted, a park within walking distance, a home vegetable garden and an orchard to supplement the family food supply, or even a balcony with space for pots of herbs and salad greens has been squeezed out of ever denser urban communities where space for luxuries like food growing and amenity planting is (considered) simply too expensive.

Slowly though, times are a-changin'. The public health system and corporates have been first to notice the cost of not having healthy, engaged people. Research has been commissioned and multi-disciplinary studies conclude that we are healthier when we have access to greenspace. Internationally huge companies like Google and PriceWaterhouseCoopers know their staff are more productive, report fewer sick days, and are less likely to want to move on when they have access to greenspace during their working day. Human resources are valuable. The cost of developing and maintaining the gardens is less that the cost of losing valuable employees.The employers provide roof gardens and outdoor terraces as break out areas, somewhere staff can eat their lunch, do a little weeding or pick and eat a strawberry while they mull over a question. It sounds simple. In essence it is. The problem is that only a few people know about it, so far.

I wrote a whole book on the topic of why and how health professionals see the potential of a greener, softer urban design. Health and a feeling of wellbeing is a fundamental right for all people, everywhere. The Code of Human Rights has stated this. Countries around the world have signed statements agreeing to uphold our right to health. In reality though, we have a way to go for the big picture benefits to filter through. Good things take time. But we can speed up the process by our personal actions. Rather than feel powerless to change anything on a global scale, let alone change our own lives, I urge you to take up the knowledge and use it as your personal empowerment towards a state of  mental health and emotional well-being. Allow yourself and those you love to enjoy being outside. Your physical health will thank you for it too.

As we notice that our children are 'plugged in' to technology and 'tuned out' from nature, we see the same tendencies in ourselves (we're here staring at a screen when we could be looking at the sky, breathing deeply of the fresh air, or talking to someone, or doing 1001 other things), so the problem isn't just with our kids. It's our problem too. For our health and well-being we NEED to be connecting with nature on a daily basis, actively and passively. An easy way to actively connect is to garden - even if you think you are a person who kills every plant you touch, you can still take solace from a garden and the gentle art of gardening. Don't be too hard on yourself. Understand it takes time to know when to feed, when to water, when to weed out the competition. Think back to when your child was a new baby and take your time to observe, only this time observe plants and you and your child, as you sow, tend, and harvest.

If you think of how much money people spend on "therapy" and how long it takes, use the knowledge of Google and PWC and as you move towards a healthier state of being save yourself some money. It may take time but time is yours to spend as you wish. Give yourself that time to potter, explore, experiment in the non-judgmental environment that is a garden. Even if you have just a few pots on a window sill, open the window to the fresh air and bask in the sunshine. Plants love rain so on rainy days pop your houseplants outside for a refreshing soak. Pop yourself outside too.

Show your children that it is fun to play in the rain, OK to get wet, and quite safe to get dirty.  Old clothes are ideal for gardening. Bare feet are an ideal way to feel the earth, to connect with our lcoal landscape. Perhaps more important than what we are wearing though is how we manage our nature connections. What do we allow? What messages do we send? Do we say "ugh, don't touch", or do we feel the mud, taste the fruit, smell the flower, listen for the birdsong? It's up to each and every one of us. Regardless of our age, ability or physical condition a feeling of well-being is ours, for free, if we take a moment to enjoy nature in all her glory. That's all the therapy I need.

Natural play grounds in schools

Last week the states of South Australia and Queensland announced their committment to natural play in schools. The timing was interesting in that it co-incided with Richard Louv's visit. He addressed audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide on the impacts from his books The Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle. In those books he discusses the idea that today's children are disconnected from nature, and suffer as a result.

Australia is known for being an active sporting nation, but also for soaring childhood obesity rates. That natural play is being introduced across the 2 states is significant. The World Health Organisation has published data to show that rising healthcare costs associated with lifestyle-related disorders are unsustainable, in all countries. In Australia, as in the US, UK and elsewhere, although some people play organised sport, many children would rather sit indoors and play computer games. As has been shown in multiple international studies, humans are hard wired to respond to nature connections and postive natural experiences. When we are connected with nature our mental and physical health is improved and we are less liekly to suffer from lifestyle related diseases. Natural play initiatives aim to facilitate health and well-being through environmental design affordances.

State governments recognise the link between child health, educational outcomes and the importance of nature connections. In the UK we work with schools, Early Years and Family Centres to design and develop the environments to afford such experiences. In the US we also work with schools to create natural play and outdoor learning environments. In Russia, Portugal, Ghana and Malaysia we have worked with local providers to design for natural play in safe school settings. Regardless of the culture, the climate or the budget, a nature play solution is cost effective. Benefiting academic outcomes, social cohesion, health and well-being, environmental design solutions can provide a win:win for all.

Outdoor learning environments can be informal outdoor classrooms, playful spaces or growing areas

Nature play requrires natural materials

Natural play grounds in schools in a safe stream channel

When we advise schools, governments and not-for-profits around the design of school playgrounds and outdoor learning environments they can be sceptical at first. However, as soon as we show the evidence from around the world of the massive positive effects they quickly become interested. When we explain that natural play grounds in schools actually cost less than a  manufactured solution to design, develop and maintain, they are hooked.

Sustainable design requires a long term view. Health and well-being are long term goals that benefit from immediate gains. Gains in mental and physical health are seen within weeks of installing natural play grounds in schools. These benefits flow on to improved classroom behaviour, enhanced social interractions, raised academic outcomes and improved community links.

Natural play grounds in schools cost little, require little manufactured product, but create huge positive impacts

The business case for the development of natural play and outdoor classrooms within schools is strong. 2 states in Australia have initiated programmes to support the development of natural playgrounds in every school in their jurisdiction within the next 24 months. Who will be next?