13- Wellness and Landscape

 The link between wellness and landscape is closer than you'd think. As a species for the past few millennia, we've been accustomed to living richly with the outdoors, farming the land, travelling and hunting it. Now with the change in behaviours, and the advancement of civilization and technology, there is more disconnect than ever. Something highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people forced to stay indoors, socialisation limited and being stuck in a confined space people felt more depressed and anxious (Mind.org.uk, 2020). Many people reassessing their lifestyle post-pandemic and public space is more appreciated than before. It's proven that being outdoors can improve your mental health and physical health as well as improve cognitive skills, and memory, and boost creativity and reasoning skills (Pyrah, 2023)

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 The links between wellness and design are interesting, there is plenty of evidence that humans feel emotionally and physically better for being in the presence of plants and water for a minimum of 20 minutes. This research is the basis of Canadian doctors prescribing national park passes to assist people's physical and mental health. (Root, 2022)

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There has always been a relationship between people and plants, with humans starting out as gatherers to hunters. The use of the landscape was used to our advantage and as one of the most adaptable species on the planet, we've been able to adjust, but have some of the changes been too quick for us to evolve?

References

Mind.org.uk. (2020). The impact of coronavirus on mental health | Mind research. [online] Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/coronavirus-research/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2023].

Root, T. (2022). Doctors in Canada can now prescribe national park passes to patients. [online] Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/02/07/national-park-prescriptions-mental-health/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2023].

Pyrah, S. (2023). The nature cure: how time outdoors transforms our memory, imagination and logic. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/27/the-nature-cure-how-time-outdoors-transforms-our-memory-imagination-and-logic [Accessed 3 Dec. 2023].

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