scholarly journals Conserve My Village—Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish Students’ Valued Landscapes and Well-Being

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 671
Author(s):  
Eija Yli-Panula ◽  
Eila Jeronen ◽  
Eila Matikainen ◽  
Christel Persson
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
Mountain Landscapes ◽  
Health And Well Being

In the context of landscape, both the natural environment and the built environment can be linked with human health and well-being. This connection has been studied among adults, but no research has been conducted on young people. To fill this gap, this case study aimed to elucidate students’ views on landscapes worth conserving and the landscapes that affect and support their well-being. The participants (n = 538) were Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish students from grades 3–6. The students drew the landscapes they wanted to conserve. The drawn landscapes and the welfare-supporting features they contained were analysed using inductive and abductive content analyses. The students from all three countries preferred water, forest and yard landscapes. In the drawings of natural landscapes, the most recurring themes were sunrise or sunset, forest, beach and mountain landscapes. Physical well-being was manifested in the opportunity to jog and walk. Social well-being was reflected in the presence of friends, relatives and animals. Therapeutically important well-being-related spaces—the so-called green (natural areas), blue (aquatic environments) and white (e.g., snow) areas—were also depicted in the participants’ drawings. It can be concluded that the drawn landscapes reflect several values that promote students’ well-being.

Tourists in the garden; human health and happiness and the semiotics of garden visiting.

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Richard W. Benfield
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Botanical Garden ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Five Senses ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract In this chapter the motivations of garden visiting are explored at a deeper level, into the realm of psychology and psychological drivers to gardens. This research area is called "semiotics". It is suggested that examination of the five senses would be a major indicator of semiotics as much of what a tourist experiences or displays would be recorded through the five human senses. Moreover, the five senses lead to a realization of happiness which is what tourism seeks and indeed what the human species ultimately wishes. A case study is presented of semiotics research conducted in the Queens Botanical Garden, Flushing, New York, USA. The literature that links gardens (and gardening) to human health and well-being is also reviewed.

Tourists in the garden; human health and happiness and the semiotics of garden visiting.

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Richard W. Benfield
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Botanical Garden ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Five Senses ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract In this chapter the motivations of garden visiting are explored at a deeper level, into the realm of psychology and psychological drivers to gardens. This research area is called "semiotics". It is suggested that examination of the five senses would be a major indicator of semiotics as much of what a tourist experiences or displays would be recorded through the five human senses. Moreover, the five senses lead to a realization of happiness which is what tourism seeks and indeed what the human species ultimately wishes. A case study is presented of semiotics research conducted in the Queens Botanical Garden, Flushing, New York, USA. The literature that links gardens (and gardening) to human health and well-being is also reviewed.

The great outdoors: forests, wilderness, and public health

2018 ◽  
pp. 147-153
Author(s):  
Qing Li ◽  
Simon Bell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nature Reserves ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
Health And Well Being

Forests and other areas are considered by many people to represent natural landscapes with the appearance of minimal human intervention or few human elements, far removed from where most people live nowadays. While some nature reserves and significant forests lie close to various urban areas, providing opportunities for a daily escape from the stresses of urban life, many lie at a distance. The contrast in the character and qualities of forests and wilderness offers many special opportunities and benefits to human health and well-being. The clean, oxygen-rich atmosphere free of pollution, the enveloping depths of a silent forest, or the chance for solitary engagement with nature all combine to provide physiological, psychological, and physical health benefits, the evidence for which has been gradually accumulating in recent decades. Our understanding of some of the mechanisms facilitating this is beginning to evolve, but more work is needed to confirm many tentative findings.

Green Harvest

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Jones
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
The World ◽  
Back To The Land ◽  
Organic Gardening

Green Harvest explores the ideas and practices that have shaped organic farming and gardening in Australia from the interwar years to the present day. It reveals that Australian organic farming and gardening societies were amongst the first in the world, being active as early as the 1940s. In what way does human health depend upon the natural environment? Green Harvest traces this idea through four themes of Australian organic farming and gardening – soil, chemical free, ecological well-being and back to the land – each illustrated with a case study profiling an Australian organic farmer or gardener. Personalities in Australian organic gardening, such as Jackie French and Peter Bennett, talk about organic growing. The book also features extracts from early organic magazines and interviews with current organic growers, including banana and macadamia farmers, managers of outback sheep stations, dairy farmers and self-sufficiency gardeners. All of these tell the story of Australian organic farming and gardening: past, present and future.

scholarly journals The Influence of Plant Form on Human Health and Well Being

HortScience ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 901C-901
Author(s):  
Virginia I. Lohr ◽  
Caroline H. Pearson-Mims
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Residential Settings ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
Plant Form ◽  
Health And Well Being

Research has shown that people respond physiologically and psychologically to scenes of urban and natural landscapes. Viewing nature has been associated with improvements in health, and there is evidence that people have a preference for certain tree forms. Human responses to different tree forms (spreading, columnar, and rounded) and nonliving urban elements were examined. Blood pressure, skin temperature, and emotional states of participants were measured while viewing computer-enhanced slides of urban and residential settings. Respondents were calmer when viewing trees than when viewing nonliving urban elements, and they expressed strong preferences for some tree scenes

scholarly journals Evidence-Based Landscape Architecture for Human Health and Well-Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Brown ◽  
Robert C. Corry
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Landscape Architecture ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The People ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health And Well Being

More than 80% of the people in the USA and Canada live in cities. Urban development replaces natural environments with built environments resulting in limited access to outdoor environments which are critical to human health and well-being. In addition, many urban open spaces are unused because of poor design. This paper describes case studies where traditional landscape architectural design approaches would have compromised design success, while evidence-based landscape architecture (EBLA) resulted in a successful product. Examples range from school-yard design that provides safe levels of solar radiation for children, to neighborhood parks and sidewalks that encourage people to walk and enjoy nearby nature. Common characteristics for integrating EBLA into private, public, and academic landscape architecture practice are outlined along with a discussion of some of the opportunities and barriers to implementation.

scholarly journals Study design, rationale and methods of the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) study: a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate environmental and human health impacts of a water-sensitive intervention in informal settlements in Indonesia and Fiji

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e042850
Author(s):  
Karin Leder ◽  
John J Openshaw ◽  
Pascale Allotey ◽  
Ansariadi Ansariadi ◽  
S Fiona Barker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Health And Well Being

IntroductionIncreasing urban populations have led to the growth of informal settlements, with contaminated environments linked to poor human health through a range of interlinked pathways. Here, we describe the design and methods for the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) study, a transdisciplinary randomised trial evaluating impacts of an intervention to upgrade urban informal settlements in two Asia-Pacific countries.Methods and analysisRISE is a cluster randomised controlled trial among 12 settlements in Makassar, Indonesia, and 12 in Suva, Fiji. Six settlements in each country have been randomised to receive the intervention at the outset; the remainder will serve as controls and be offered intervention delivery after trial completion. The intervention involves a water-sensitive approach, delivering site-specific, modular, decentralised infrastructure primarily aimed at improving health by decreasing exposure to environmental faecal contamination. Consenting households within each informal settlement site have been enrolled, with longitudinal assessment to involve health and well-being surveys, and human and environmental sampling. Primary outcomes will be evaluated in children under 5 years of age and include prevalence and diversity of gastrointestinal pathogens, abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in gastrointestinal microorganisms and markers of gastrointestinal inflammation. Diverse secondary outcomes include changes in microbial contamination; abundance and diversity of pathogens and AMR genes in environmental samples; impacts on ecological biodiversity and microclimates; mosquito vector abundance; anthropometric assessments, nutrition markers and systemic inflammation in children; caregiver-reported and self-reported health symptoms and healthcare utilisation; and measures of individual and community psychological, emotional and economic well-being. The study aims to provide proof-of-concept evidence to inform policies on upgrading of informal settlements to improve environments and human health and well-being.EthicsStudy protocols have been approved by ethics boards at Monash University, Fiji National University and Hasanuddin University.Trial registration numberACTRN12618000633280; Pre-results.

scholarly journals Biodiversity and Health in the Urban Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa R. Marselle ◽  
Sarah J. Lindley ◽  
Penny A. Cook ◽  
Aletta Bonn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Purpose of review Biodiversity underpins urban ecosystem functions that are essential for human health and well-being. Understanding how biodiversity relates to human health is a developing frontier for science, policy and practice. This article describes the beneficial, as well as harmful, aspects of biodiversity to human health in urban environments. Recent findings Recent research shows that contact with biodiversity of natural environments within towns and cities can be both positive and negative to human physical, mental and social health and well-being. For example, while viruses or pollen can be seriously harmful to human health, biodiverse ecosystems can promote positive health and well-being. On balance, these influences are positive. As biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, research suggests that its loss could threaten the quality of life of all humans. Summary A key research gap is to understand—and evidence—the specific causal pathways through which biodiversity affects human health. A mechanistic understanding of pathways linking biodiversity to human health can facilitate the application of nature-based solutions in public health and influence policy. Research integration as well as cross-sector urban policy and planning development should harness opportunities to better identify linkages between biodiversity, climate and human health. Given its importance for human health, urban biodiversity conservation should be considered as public health investment.

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