OUR FUTURE HEALTH: how to unlock the restorative power of nature
Image: Horatio's Garden,Salisbury .Photo credit Horatio's Garden
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As modern life spawns ever increasing mental and physical health problems, a seismic shift in attitudes is occurring as growing evidence shows how important gardens and plants are for our wellbeing.
As garden designers, we will have all pondered why the garden is so alluring and have our own answers to this question. Most of us appreciate the sensory qualities of plants, the calming nature of a garden pool, the soothing power of green; what can be harder to pin down is the science behind this sense of wellbeing.
For our Digital Spring 2021 Conference, speakers Sue Stuart-Smith, Tijana Blanusa, Olivia Kirk, Topher Delaney, Johanna Gibbons, Tom Stuart-Smith, and Faith Ramsay as our Chair, will present findings from contemporary research into the health benefits of green spaces and explore how garden design and plants can influence our sensory experiences, psychology and wellbeing.
Examining the health problems we face in the modern world, they will explain how we can mitigate these through the gardens and landscapes that we design, from sowing seeds at rehabilitation centres and community garden projects to the principles of user-led design, plant selection and spatial layout.
“put human history into one week, starting Monday and this modern world emerges 3 seconds before midnight on Sunday…
The human brain evolved in the context of the natural world, yet we expect it to function optimally in the unnatural urban surrounds that people inhabit today”
Jules Pretty – extract from The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith
The Conference will be held at the Royal Geographical Society in London; their COVID policy can be found below:
"The RGS held its latest review at the end of September and there are no current plans for any limitations on capacity or catering to be in place for events. However, as we’re all aware the COVID situation can change drastically and quickly, so in the case of Government or other industry body guidelines/restrictions being imposed the Society may need to reinstate the clauses as described in the COVID Variation Agreement.
If so, then we will certainly be in touch as soon as possible to advise how this could impact the event.
The following COVID measures are currently still being followed throughout the venue:
- Additional cleaning
- Hand sanitiser at entrances/exits/high touch point areas
- Perspex screens
- Temperature checks at entrance
- We will still encourage visitors to wear face masks, particularly in busy, enclosed spaces."
The SGD Spring Digital Conference 2021 is kindly sponsored by Vectorworks and David Harber
