Tag: greenspace

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CLM field session in Singapore – How to recognize Contemplative Landscape features in the park

Posted on by Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo

On 6.10.2023 upon the National Parks Board (NParks Singapore) request, Dr Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo conducted the onsite consultation and training for the NParks designers and officers regarding the use of the Contemplative Landscape Model (CLM). NParks is currently rolling out the CLM in their parks and actively using this evidence-based tool [read more here].

We’re hoping to mainstream this research and apply it to a lot more sites outside of our parks and gardens… So far, we’re still in the early stage of hand-holding, but we hope it becomes adopted and grows in the wider industry”, says Jason Wright, Director of Design at NParks.

During the session Dr Guizzo shared the practical considerations of the use of the tool in the evaluation of the newly implemented"Wellness Garden"  - a part of East Coast Park in Singapore.  Additionally, she has answered the doubts and addressed the considerations of NParks landscape architects team about the active use of the CLM.

This was a very fruitful exchange session where all issues could be discussed in confrontation with the actual site!

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ASEAN Workshop on Biodiversity and its Linkages to Human Health

Posted on by Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo

27 September 2021  at 2:30 PM Singapore

The connections between biodiversity, mental health and physical inactivity are particularly relevant in the context of shifting global burden of diseases in which non-communicable diseases are among the most rapidly rising challenge to global public health. Contact with nature may provide positive mental health benefits, as well as promote physical activity and contribute to overall well-being.

The ASEAN Workshop on Biodiversity and its Links to Human Health in an Urban Context and Capacity Building on Therapeutic Horticulture as an Example of the Links (referred to subsequently as the ASEAN Workshop) is one of the follow-up activities to the above 2018 regional workshop. The European Union, through the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of Protected Areas in ASEAN (BCAMP), is providing funding support to the ASEAN Workshop.

Due to the COVID-19, the ASEAN Workshop had to be postponed and implementation modalities divided into two parts:
(i) introductory webinar (as per current invitation and information note); and
(ii) in-person workshop (tentatively to be conducted in 2022, contingent on prevailing
COVID-19 situation)

Expected Outputs of the Introductory Webinar

1. Enable participants to become supporters and active advocates of green spaces and
therapeutic horticulture approaches in their respective cities in the ASEAN Region.
2. Generate ideas and recommendations on the promotion of green spaces and
therapeutic horticulture in the ASEAN Region.

2:30-2:40pm  - Entry of participants, House rules ACB

2:40-2:45pm Opening remarks , Ms. Wendy Yap - Director/ International Biodiversity Conservation, NParks

Session 1: Role of Green Spaces on Health and Wellbeing
2.45-3.25pm

  1. "Landscapes for mental wellbeing" - Dr. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo - President and Co-founder of  NeuroLandscape
  2.  "Case study: Prescribing physical activity in parks in Singapore for improved health and wellbeing" - Dr. Nicholas Alexander Petrunoff - Assistant Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore
  3. Question and Answer - Moderator: Mr. Elpidio Peria, - Technical Consultant, ACB

Session 2: Benefits of Therapeutic Horticulture, a Nature-based Programme
3.35-4.25pm

  1. "Contextualising therapeutic horticulture for the tropics" - Ms. Tham Siang Yu Permaculture Designer
  2. "Case study 1: Design and programming of therapeutic horticulture in a tropical nursing home" - Mr. Tham Xin Kai Design Director of Hortian Consultancy and Co-founder of
    Hortherapeutics
  3. " Case study 2: A research study on therapeutic horticulture on older adults in Singapore" - Ms. Angelia Sia Deputy Director of Research at the Centre for Urban Greenery and
    Ecology, NParks
  4. Question and Answer Moderator: Mr. Elpidio Peria, Technical Consultant, ACB

4:35 – 4.45 Synthesis and Closing - Ms. Clarissa C. Arida, Director, Programme Development and Implementation Unit, ACB

iHealthtech, National University of Singapore and 

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World Sustainability Forum Speech on Community-led Greenspace |13-15 September 2021

Posted on by Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo

On Monday 13th September at 11:00 CEST Dr Diana Benjumea Meija presented her research on "The Spatial and Social Components of Community-led Green Spaces and its Contribution to the Health and Wellbeing of Low-income Communities" at the 9th World Sustainability Forum

In the last decade, there has been a surge in projects initiated by urban low-income residents in Medellin to revitalise urban green spaces through pro-environmental initiatives. Urban green spaces in these neighbourhoods are believed to be the repositories of diverse socially constructed and perceived meanings defined by the prosocial and self-reflective approaches of the communities to achieve alternative methods of governance over the territory.

This study was designed to investigate the underlying spatial and social components that emerge after the community-led green spaces are built. Two neighbourhoods in Medellin were investigated: Villatina (commune 8) and Eduardo Santos (commune 13). A quasi-longitudinal mix-methods study was conducted from 2016 until June 2021.
Ethnographic field work, interviews, focus groups and surveys were collected with residents of the two neighbourhoods. The results of this study suggest that there are underlying social and spatial components that emerge after the community-led green spaces are built and these are crucial to forge prosocial behaviours, activism, stewardship, and protection from crime.

Additionally, the active engagement of the communities in self-governed placemaking process creates an immediate sense of place defined by social factors such as ownership, learning, community coexistence, cooperation, sustainability, and ecology. These components contribute to the mental and physical health and wellbeing of low-income residents and creates unique social and environmental values.

Book of abstracts available here

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EKLIPSE project outcomes: Systematic Review, Podcast, WHO Booklet

Posted on by Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo

For several years, papers have been published about the positive impact of greenness on health, including some synthesis and systematic reviews. Yet, none of them has so far addressed the question of the type of habitats and components of such habitats that have a significant (and preferably positive) effect on mental health and psychological well-being. This is important in order to provide recommendations to designers and managers of green and blue spaces in and around cities.

The aim of this request was to provide recommendations regarding the design, management, and creation of natural spaces in urban or suburban areas in order to promote the mental health of urban inhabitants.

Final outputs of this work can be found here and here, and they include:

@Eklipse_europe has also launched a podcast about our Expert Working Group work results and more!
The podcast can be accessed here. 
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Green Exercise Partnership, NHS Scotland

Posted on by Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo

Scotland gets the importance of green space for health.

Their National Health Service has teamed up with the Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage Heritage to create the NHS Greenspace Demonstration Project to ensure the inclusion of green space at health facilities around the country. They've even gone a step further with the Green Exercise Partnership to promote the importance of outdoor activity for mental and physical health. Here are some interesting takeaways from their latest promotional video:

For every pound that we spend on green space, we're actually realizing over four pounds of social and economic benefits from the wider range of sustainability gains. —Susan Grant, NHS Scotland

There’s now compelling evidence that green exercise improves not only your physical health, but also emotional and mental health as well. —Dr Gregor Smith, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Scotland

Source: http://www.paha.org.uk/Feature/nhs-greenspace