For over twenty years, scientific data has been employed to prove the beneficial relationship between plants and mental and physical well-being. From the seminal studies of Ulrich and Moore which generated the data on post-operative patient responses and prisoner behaviour to green space, the data has steadily built into an inarguable body of evidence. Publication of documents such as the Mind ‘Ecotherapy’ report in May 2007, the Early Day Motion which endorsed it with 117 MPs signatures plus Department of Health support for outdoor activity initiatives are moving this discussion firmly into the mainstream.

What is required now is a sea-change within the health services which will see green space-related treatments prescribed as a matter of routine. In wider society, the proper provision of green space for all in both new and existing housing and working environments must also be seen as essential in the prevention of a range of mental and physical health problems in the first place.

Care farming

Some places have already incorporated aspects of this thinking. Holland has a network of 600 care farms in place already which provide a range of services for people suffering from mental health and related problems. Care farms are an established form of treatment and the network is sufficiently developed that prescribing stays on them is normal for Dutch GPs. Mechanisms have been developed that allow suitable payment to be made to farmers and growers who provide the service. Researchers at the University of Wageningen are investigating the effects of care farms on dementia sufferers, psychiatric patients and rehabilitating drug users. The National Care Farm Initiative has been established in the UK to promote and develop this service here.

Horticultural therapy

The national charity Thrive works tirelessly to improve the lives of people with disabilities, their carers and families through engaging people with rearing, tending and harvesting plants in a range of situations. This kind of work and experience can lead to a reduction in the quantity and potency of medication that they require. This results in improved quality of life as well as permitting cost savings.

Agricultural and horticultural therapy are only part of picture. ‘Ecotherapy’ in its widest sense includes the benefits that accrue from any green space activities, from walking and kite-flying to conservation work or fishing. Mind’s promotion of ecotherapy has its foundation in long-term projects that prove how outdoor activity in green surroundings conclusively benefits people with mental and physical health problems. In Solihull, for example, GPs routinely recommend local Mind projects in sport, conservation, walking and horticulture to people experiencing mental distress with impressive results. Similarly, where appropriate facilities are known to community mental health teams, clients will be referred.

In an important development, Natural England has teamed up with NICE (National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence) to develop a framework for evaluating green exercise activities. This has the potential to allow the standardisation of facilities nationwide and to encourage confidence among health care professionals when prescribing these treatments.

How can landscape professionals contribute to this process?

What is the role of landscape professionals, planners, developers and the nursery stock industry in this process? Each of these contributes to the provision of the on-the-doorstep green space that must provide the bread and butter of the nation’s daily dose of nature. These are the areas that provide the subconscious green benefits of views of nature, as well as the setting for the daily walks, games, gardening and other activities that have been proved to deliver so much benefit. Encouraging use and involvement in community green spaces has also been proven to reduce anti-social behaviour in these places, which can lead to social and economic benefit.

Campaigners in this sphere identify landscape professionals as key players in improving accessibility and increasing usage of green space. The Sensory Trust exists to promote the creation of green space that is accessible to all and provides a high quality experience. It helps build stronger connections between people and place through inclusive design, consultation with users and planning information and interpretation. CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) recently praised the trust and its Director Jane Stoneham: ‘the Sensory Trust has achieved an enormous amount in breaking down barriers and raising awareness about inclusive design’. Mind too targets professionals working in landscape on local councils and town planners because of the enabling role they can play in providing the green space facilities required by those with mental health problems.

Commercial developers have the potential to put green space at the heart of projects and thereby provide the green infrastructure that a community can rely on to fulfil its needs. In an exciting development in Peterborough, property management firm O & H Hampton is leading the way in which this can be done. The total area covered by this site is in the order of 25 000 acres of brownfield land. 50% of the area is to be made up of open space, including parks, lakes, woodland and nature reserves. Within the project there will be 7000 new homes and retail, commercial and industrial areas providing 12000 jobs. The green space element has become a key part of the promotion of the development, with its network of cycleways, massive provision of varied green spaces and potential for outdoor recreation within a stone’s throw of home becoming written in to corporate DNA.

Above: Landscape at O&H Hampton Peterborough site

Above: A 'proper' childhood needs suitable green space,
O & H Hampton Peterborough site

The Green City and Ecotherapy

The Green City initiative gives its endorsement to charities, commercial organisations and professional bodies that champion the cause of green space in each of the countries where it is active. It networks actively to broaden the reach of the green space agenda with professionals, retailers and ultimately the public. Its work complements that of many others operating in this area and makes a valuable contribution to raising the profile of plants and green space in the development and regeneration discussion. This is likely to be especially significant with changes in the way that local government prioritises funding for green space provision, following the scrapping of public service agreement 8 (‘Lead the delivery of cleaner, safer and greener public spaces…’) The pressure will now be on to make our case more convincingly and confidently than ever. But ammunition to fight for what we know is right is more available than ever. In his ‘Depression Report’, Lord Layard explained that failure to treat depression and chronic anxiety effectively costs the UK economy £12 billion in lost output. Tackling obesity is a government-wide priority. Green space for all must be central to addressing these challenges.