Plant Enrichment vs. Human Health- Elsa Larson

Riley Norman "The Healing Garden"

ScienceDirect

"Pathways Linking Biodiversity to Human Health"

An Van Nieuwenhuyse

"Biodiversity and Human Health"

Plant Enrichment vs. Human Health

How can plant-rich environments improve the mental and physical state of a person? Can exposure to biodiversity affect society as a whole? what are the Effects?

"Nurtured by Nature" Kirsten Weir

Eeva Karjalainen, Tytti Sarjala, Hannu Raitio

"Promoting Human Health through Forests"

ELSA LARSON

The Healing Garden

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Key Ideas

Riley Norman (2020)

• Healing gardens are a space filled with greenery in order to provide a sense of community, and ultimately heal ones mental and physical wellbeing. Norman states "Healing gardens and nature as a whole can help with physical healing, as well as emotional, spritual, and mental health".
• "Research shows that natures experiences, like gardening, not only increase children's empathy for the natural world, but also helps them with perception, self-esteem, self-acceptance, and self-efficacy (Uhlmann, 2018)"
• Parks and green spaces also provide community and a family for people. "This garden, in the middle of inner-city Los Angleles, brought men, women, and children together, gave them community, a purpose, and something to enjoy". Parks a way for kids to socialize and develop crucial communication and social skills.
• Parks and gardens are becoming more and more empty as less people are using them. Technology has put a strain on society's involvement with the natural world, "However, there are several reasons why children may lack engagement with nature; three of those reasons are "new technologies, safety concerns, and the reduction in quality urban environments" (Chiumento, 2018, p.2). For these reasons, nature seems to be losing its relevance."
• "According to Tillmann et al., (2018), accessibility influences the chances that children will interact or even encounter nature". Accessibility as well as safety concerns; violence, air/environment quality, is a huge factor that limits people from experiencing biodiverse plants.
• "Surrounding children with nature in whatever way possible (including ill and well children) may help them not only develop better social skills, but also helps them psychologically (Kabish, 2017)."

Overview

This research journal written by Riley Norman, expresses the need and desire for interactions with plant life creation. Building more gardens and green houses around communities and near people who need it most, such as children and sick individuals, will benefit society in a positive way, and allow for creative and healthy minds to flow.

Role in the Conversation

Healing gardens are being grown all over the country, near hostpitals and other highly populated areas in order to feel a sense of community and connection but also to heal your mind and body. Norman explains that these "healing gardens" have helped his community by socializing with neighbors but also feel a sense of connection with the natural earth. Norman incorporates a geographical/region lens, to show that not everyone has access to green space and biodiverse plant life. He also includes technical and digital lenses in order to portray the damage technology has caused to humans and plant life.

"Nurtured by Nature"

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Key Ideas

• Activities involving the outdoors and nature are so beneficial for ones mental and physical health. "From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation".

• Experiments that expose individuals to natural environments have been linked to improving memory, cognitive flexibility and attention control, while individuals surrounded by an urban or plain setting, reported a lack of attention (Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 28, No. 5, 2019)."

• Children exposed to green space and active outdoor play had less of a chance developing any mental or psychological illnesses.
• "In a review of this work, Mathew White, PhD, an environmental psychologist at the Univeristy of external in England, and colleagues concluded that while the real deal is best, virtual reality can be a worthwhile substitute for people who are unable to get outdoors, such as those with mobility problems or illness (Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, Vol. 14, 2018)".

Kirsten Weir (2020)

Overview

An expiriment was performed by Kirsten Weir and her team in order to scientifically prove if plant life does in fact improve the mental and physical wellbeing of a person. The importance for growing more green space and providing more ways to expose people to green life is crucial in order to receive the benefits nature can provide. Building Biophilic designs and creating virtual reality headsets for children who are ill and can't physically go outside. Weir explains the cognitive and physical benefits nature brings to our life but also ways to expose people to green life in order to improve the whole community and environment.

Role in the Conversation

Nature deficit is quite common in todays day in age due to technological advances. Experiments that tested children's behavior when in contact with nature proved that humans mentally and physically benefit from it. Ways of exposing nature to those who may not be able to, such as virtual reality, is the next step. Virtual Rreality allows individuals to see any utopian world. Playing clips of mountains or rivers to individuals who don't have access to green life is how those individuals take in nature. Technology can be healing to nature and humans.

"Pathways Linking Biodiversity to Human Health: A Conceptual Framework"

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Key Ideas

• Characteristics of an individual including gender, age, cultural background, etc. influence their connection to nature. Different cultures grow up in different climates and biodiverse plant life, which ultimalty affects their relationship with nature.
• Interactions with nature and plant life can alter one's feelings about biodiversity. The typology that's studied, studys the differences between "incidental or intentional" interactions with nature, and whether it's "indirect or direct".
• As our ecosystems and plant life are dying at an accelerating rate, the exposure for poor public health due to "unsustainable biodiversity management" is crucial in order to focus on the health of the natural environment.
• Health care and medicines are primarily used from plant based materials as a natrual product- "70-80% of the global population depend on some form of traditional medicine for their primary health care".
• "As such, the awareness of the breadth of effects biodiversity has on human health necessitates a large range on approaches to protect and restore biodiversity to promote health-starting in gardens and parks, over biodiverse agricultural areas to tropical forest, wilderness and nature reserves".

ScienceDirect (2021)

Overview

Linking biodiversity to human health through conceptual framework, created by a group of scientists through ScienceDierect, provided pathways that proved the importance for human contact with natural environments. Environmental life, a persons background and community connection/involvement all factor in on an individuals behavior and impact on biodiverse plant populations.

Role in the Story

Four direct domains that link biodiverse plant life and human well-being defined that the characteristics of a persons life ultimately determine their relationship with nature and plant life. However, connections with the natrual environment can change by redirecting and exposing the evidence behind human well-being and biodiversity, providing solutions to change peoples behaviors towards green space. This article takes a different view point and talks about the effects Covid has had on plant life and humans relationship with the environment exposing the neglect and destruction we have done to biodiversity, but also explaining the lens behind each culture and individuals background and past relationship with nature.

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"Biodiversity and Human Health"

An Van Nieuwenhuyse, Raf Aerts, Oliver Honnay (2018)

Key Ideas

Overview

This article, written by An Van Nieuwenhuyse, goes in depth explaining the evidence behind the health effects nature and plant life offers to people. The long term psychological and emotional benefits surrounding exposure to plant life is proven to be true which is why functioning ecosystems are needed in order to reconnect and heal the natural world and society.

• Early life and prenatal exposure to nature and diverse natural environments is crucial for development and reduced risk of developing illnesses such as schizophrenia and obesity.
• Early life exposure has also been proven to have a positive effect on blood pressure as well as building up immune systems- limiting getting airborne and inflammatory sicknesses, and a "therapeutic immersion in nature".
• "Environments provide food, fuel, fresh water, medicines, and other materials ('provisioning services'); regulate local and global climate, air quality, pollination, pests and vecto-borne diseases ('regulating services'); provide habitat for biological diversity and maintain genetic diversity and offer space for spiritual, recreational and intellectual interaction with natural environments".
• Multiple studies were done proving the positive effects plant life had on society, stating that 50% of people responded positively to plant species richness, and 80% human well-being on habitat diversity.

Role in the Conversation

The long term benefits of biodiversity on human health is never ending, however the power 'ecosystem services' holds, is slowly decreasing due to the destruction of green life habitats. Nieuwenhuyse explains solutions to start including biodiversity and plant life in peoples every day lives in order to receive the benefits nature has to offer. The experiments taken place in this article used individuals of all different ages, cultures, and backgrounds in order to provide the best results and view each experiments with a new lens, depending on the group.

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"Promoting Human Health through Forests:Overview and Major Challenges"

Eeva Karjalainen, Tytti Sarjala, Hannu Raitio (2009)

Key Ideas

• Forests and plant life supply an important role in our society that create healthy and sustainable environments and "provide recreational, cultural, spriitual, and aesthetic services".
• Forests and plant life are being threatened by societies act in pollution, climate change, and natural disasters.
• The expansion of the urban and modern lifestyle has increased poor health related issues, "Growing stress is connected with urban living and contemporary work practices dominated by high technology and virtual worlds".
• "It has to be noted that not all people perceive natrual environments as therapeutic; forests can also be perceived as threatening and alien places which may cause anxiety and uncertainty; for example, childhood nature experiences may influence adulthood relationships with natrual environments".
• Many tree species have been proven to release a rich source of bioactive compounds that act as a medicine as well as a source for food and nutrients.
• Deforestation is causing a lot of these healing plants to go extinct- harming the medical and environmental world.

Overview

Health benefits provided through forests by offering a natrual source of plant and microbial materials resulting in valuable healing powers. The benefits are portrayed throughout this article, but they also include the areas of risk and challenges associated with health wellness connecting plant life. Including the deforestation and biodiversity degradation which is causing the harm between natrual life and human life.

Role in the Story

The increase risk in global warming as well as deforestation is a health risk to the public, as CO2 levels rise and natural disasters are becoming more frequent, health concerns are rising by being surrounded by these toxic emissions. Forests and natural ecosystems are the key to life as it provides a number of medicinal compounds to heal, as well as creates beauty in this world.