Every week, we bring you the latest news in placemaking, landscape architecture, the nature-mental health link, and much more. Check back each week for new roundups and items.
Drs. Oz and Roizen: “Green prescriptions” for Busy People
“Getting up close and personal with Mother Nature yields big mind-body benefits. A walk in the park is a great lunchtime activity, but new reports reveal that even desk jockeys and folks with little time (or no great love for the great outdoors) can reap the rewards of a green environment with only a few plants around their workplace and in their home. But you can’t pack all your green-time into a one-week vacation or a weekend excursion to the mountains…You need a little green-time every — or almost every — day to reap its amazing benefits for your brain and body.”
‘Green’ Exercise Provides Numerous Health Benefits for Children
“‘Green’ exercise is a term that describes physical activities conducted in natural settings as opposed to indoors…In recent years, researchers have looked at how the impact of green exercise differs from non-green exercise and the findings have been somewhat promising. Some studies have indicated that adults who engage in green exercise report increases in self-esteem as a result. Others suggest decreases in stress are more apparent after green exercise when compared to traditional indoor exercise. Katharine Reed of the University of Essex’s School of Biological Sciences in the United Kingdom recently conducted a study involving 75 children who were 11 and 12 years old. The children were evaluated after they completed a 1.5 mile run in an urban setting one week and then a similar run in a natural setting the following week…As the natural setting run required more effort because it was on natural turf, which included wet ground and hills. Despite these challenges, the children said both runs required equal effort. This could suggest that green exercise was actually less strenuous than urban exercise.”
Hospital Garden Sows Seeds for Sustenance and Health
“Built in 2010, the MRMC Healing Garden is a modern-day example of an age-old concept. During the Middle Ages, some cloister gardens were dedicated to growing plants and herbs for medicinal benefit. Over time, the monks realized that the very nature of gardens was positive for treating the whole person: body, mind and spirit…Sally Schwitters, executive director at Tricycle Gardens, worked alongside CEO Michael Robinson and landscape architects from Higgins & Gerstenmaier to develop the outdoor retreat. ‘Our goal was to create a beautiful, restorative space for healing,’ Schwitters said. ‘We wanted a refuge where families can relax, take a deep breath and step outside what they’re going through.’“
Building Healthy Places: Three Models in Colorado
“Healthy Places: Designing an Active Colorado is a five-year, $4.5 million initiative sponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation (CHF). The goal of Colorado’s Healthy Places initiative is to reduce and prevent obesity by fostering a built environment where it is easy to walk, play, and engage in daily activities that encourage movement and connection with other people…The CHF and its local partners asked ULI to conduct Advisory Services panels—a signature program of ULI designed to make candid, independent recommendations on questions posed by the sponsor—in each of the three communities…Each panel of experts made recommendations for the programming of parks, plazas, and open space. For example, it is not enough to just build a new downtown park; the park needs to have a regular schedule of activities such as Zumba classes, health fairs, farmers markets, or community celebrations. For a space to become a place, people and activities are needed.”
