Therapeutic landscapes and their benefits
A University of Otago study has found therapeutic landscapes are beneficial for former refugees’ health and wellbeing here - but barriers to the use of these spaces need to be addressed.
Lead author, Olivia Eyles, a Geography Master of Arts student says “former refugees face many challenges for their physical, mental and social health and wellbeing during the process of resettlement.
Dunedin landscape. Image credit - Unsplash (Mathew Waters)
“The use of outdoor spaces can offer support in building attachment, identity and a feeling of home and their use needs to be encouraged and enabled.”
The study interested NZILA Advocacy Panel member Jacky Bowring. The Lincoln University School of Landscape Architecture professor says landscape architecture has a crucial role to play in supporting communities’ wellbeing through the provision of greenspace.
“As designers working in the realm of plants and water, landscape architects often have an intuitive sense of the beneficial qualities of the natural environment, but having the added understanding of this through research is extremely valuable,” she says.
The Otago study which was published in journal Sites involved interviews with 15 former Syrian Dunedin-based refugees from four families.
Co-author Dr Christina Ergler says “Cities around the world would benefit in understanding the value of pristine nature spaces or public places and also start focusing on the often-forgotten small parks or corners in a neighbourhood and the role they play for being and feeling well in a place.”
St Clair Beach in Dunedin. Image credit - Unsplash (Kieren Somerville)
The study found participants attached meanings and values to places, often associated with memories and experiences of their own home country. Those places became therapeutic.
Diverse places were identified – from backyards and school playgrounds to the beach or Dunedin Botanic Garden.
Most participants identified the beach as a place they enjoyed spending time at, playing in, and watching the water. Green spaces encountered in their everyday lives was also seen as healing and stress-reducing
Jacky Bowring says the challenge for enhancing greenspaces for wellbeing is complex, and landscape architects’ skills of working with both the physical and cultural dimensions of landscapes have the potential to craft accessible and equitable environments.
“For example, the authors of the Otago study identify that although the participants of their survey clearly benefited therapeutically from greenspaces and coastal areas, it was not always easy for them to access such spaces. Access to transport, including car ownership or confidence in using public transport, can be a considerable barrier for some groups.”
She says research into how greenspaces are crucial for supporting well-being and reducing stress highlights how important landscape architecture’s role is in the health of our communities.
“A recent study by a Lincoln University PhD student focussed specifically on campus design, including a survey of students and staff at three universities in New Zealand. The findings echo those of the Otago study in terms of how valuable greenspace is in de-stressing and supporting feelings of well-being.”
Jacky says landscape architecture has the skills to build on research like this, enhancing environments from specific settings like campuses, through to the range of scales identified by the Otago study, from backyards, to playgrounds, schools, and public greenspaces like botanic gardens.