Outdoors and green spaces: Nature as therapy

Did you know that access to nature isn’t just nice to have but is vital for all people, especially for those living with dementia? Nature can reduce agitation, improve mood, and encourage movement.   

In this episode, Dr Pauline Marsh, Senior Lecturer in Dementia Studies, and Yashi discuss how outdoor design can creates therapeutic, dementia-friendly spaces.  

Tune in to learn about

·         The healing benefits of nature for people with dementia 

·         Features of outdoor environments that have therapeutic impact for people living with dementia

·         Designing safe and accessible outdoor spaces 

·         Encouraging activity and social connection outdoors 

·         Cultural and seasonal considerations in outdoor design 
 

If you work in aged care, respite, or support someone living with dementia, this episode will give you fresh inspiration and practical ideas. 

Here you can find links to training, and general information about the Venture Out Living lab and Nature Hubs project. 

https://ventureout.dementia.utas.edu.au/  

Recruiting people living in Tasmania for our research! If you live with dementia, or are a care-partner, and you love being in nature please get in touch: Venture.Out@utas.edu.au

If you have a story to tell about connecting to nature, you might like to contribute to our sister project, the Nature Connection Storytelling Project: https://thenatureconnectionproject.com.au/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Did you know that access to nature isn't just nice to have, but is vital for all people, especially for people living with dementia? Nature can reduce agitation, improve mood, and encourage movement. Hello and welcome to Voices in Dream. This podcast is by the Dream team, a collaboration between the Wiking Dementia Research and Education Center and the Dementia Support Australia. Whether you're a support worker, a nurse, a volunteer, or someone who cares, then you are in the right place. Voices in Dream connects you to a community of HK workers to support you to support people living with dementia. I'm your host, Yashi, and each episode we share real stories, practical insights, and support for anyone involved in dementia care, especially those in respite settings. So let's learn together one shift at a time. Today I'm joined by Dr. Pauline Marsh to discuss how accessing the outdoors can be therapeutic and dementia-friendly spaces can be easy to create. Welcome to the Voices in Dream and thanks for being here today, Pauline. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

It's lovely to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Um to start off with, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your role within the Wiking?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

I'm a senior lecturer here at Wiking, and so I'm involved in some of the teaching programs. But my research role is running our lovely living lab, the Venture Out Living Lab. And this is a research project where we work with community spaces, people who look after green spaces in the community, and we help to make those dementia inclusive. And then we encourage people who live with dementia and care partners to use those spaces. And we're doing some research about their experiences of those spaces to help understand why it's particularly great for people living with dementia, which we sort of know. And it's quite popular. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that's they're they're the two main things I do at Wiking.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

I really want to talk about the nature and the connection that we have with nature. Particularly, I want to talk about how um it's important or why it is important for those who are living with dementia. So are there any uh features of outdoor environment that have the therapeutic impact for people living with dementia?

SPEAKER_01 2:22

There there are, and really they are the same therapeutic features of nature that benefit all human beings. But why they are particularly beneficial for people living with dementia is because of some of the challenges that people face when they're living with um a a cognitive disruption like that. So things like fresh air and sunlight, which are really good for all of us, being around greenery, these things create a greater sense of calm and relaxation. And there's a lot of science, a lot of evidence to show that now. And so, as you know, you know, sometimes um living with dementia can create a lot more um anxiety or apprehension. Um so getting out into fresh air sunlight and being around plants helps to reset that those stress levels and help people relax. The other um features of outdoor environments that are therapeutic are that people get to be to move their bodies more. And for some people that's very important, and really that a lot of m uh uh people living with dementia often have a great need to be moving, moving their bodies. There's also some social benefits that come. Um weirdly, although we might think about going out into nature to be quiet and to be alone, actually, there's a lot of evidence to show that it is a real social enabler. So you Yeah, it's a really particularly places like community gardens or small bushwalks, when you run into people in those spaces, there's a sort of expectation of conversation. And it's easy for people to talk and to find a connection with people because you've got a shared experience of nature. And in nature, there is always something going on to observe. There's always changes in the environment. Even when you know an area well, you'll see something different each time that you participate. In gardens, it's it's an obvious one with things being planted or harvested, growing. And in um less sort of cultivated spaces, like in the bush, there will be um evidence of animals, you know, in the bush or um things changing in the size of trees or where things are are changing. That there's always something to prompt a discussion or for people to to notice.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

So when you talk about uh the social connection side of I wouldn't think about it as a, you know, like I I'm stepping outside to have social connection, but when you mention it, it makes sense. It really does make sense. So you're suggesting that being out in the nature is not just good for your emotional well-being in terms of improving your mood, but it's also good in a way that you get to meet people, get to build that connection and talk about the shared experience that you're having out there with them.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

You know what, she've just summed it up beautifully. And the the the way we think about it with our work in the living lab is that nature or outdoor spaces can provide both of those things that you can get away and be quiet and sit by yourself or contemplate or look at something, or you also have an opportunity to be with others and have something to talk about or something to do and have a even a sense of adventure rather than a sense of um relaxation or calm. It's the option that is really the wonderful thing that nature gives us.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

And I think it's great, especially for those who are living with dementia. You know, if they create that connection and want to talk to people, I think that that's a perfect way to get out and feel better and make friends as well. Um, I just want to divert our conversation into um how um HK or respite services can create that safe, meaningful outdoor spaces, even with uh, you know, limited space or resources that is available within the edge care homes. How can they do that?

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Well, that's a really great question, and I know it's a challenge for a lot of organizations, like you say, limited space. There are also plenty of other considerations. Often, risk is um at the front of people's mind and not putting people at risk, which of course is important. But I guess what I would really want to encourage people to do is to approach this not as something that's too hard and too risky, but something that's very simple and easy to achieve. Just it can for some people at the very lower end, it can be just opening a window or finding access to fresh air within the institution. Certainly indoor plants can help with that as well. But in the outdoor spaces around residential aged care facilities, if there is the capacity to to create some simple measures or to put in some simple measures that enable people to stay in that space, to participate in that space, and that might be something like a bird feeder, seating, shade, trees, small trees, big trees, raised beds, watering cans, um having uh hoses for people to pick up and water, I would suggest a gentle nozzle. I know there have been some challenges in the past when people are overspraying things, but just thinking about ways to enable people to participate in those outdoor spaces and ways that we can make those outdoor spaces beautiful, really.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

So, how can staff and carers in CORES residents or loved ones to use these outdoor spaces more often and confidently? Because you did mention that there's a, you know, th there's always a fear of oh, are they gonna fall? That's my biggest fear when I was working in HK. That was one of the biggest fears that I had. Oh, I want them to go out and have access to the garden that we have, but oh, what if I can't be with them? What if they fall? So how can we?

SPEAKER_01 8:15

I mean, they're really they're genuine concerns, and certainly people living with dementia uh sometimes have a challenge with mobility, balance. Sometimes those things are compromised. One of the worst things we can do for people is uh let their muscles waste. So being able to walk more, being able to, you know, it's the use it or lose it type principle, of course, within some, you know, safe boundaries. But the more walking people do, the more physically active we do, the stronger those muscles are and the more stable we are. We do need to think about um human resources, having people with people outside if there is a particular physical risk. And what some um residential aged care um places are doing is involving volunteers in that sort of role of connecting people outdoors. And I really encourage this. It may be that you want to set up a role for people as the nature connector or the gardener or the the volunteer that takes people outdoors. And you by creating a relatively safe environment outside that's not free of risk, but it is mid the risks are mitigated by you know good paths and not leaving the hose lying around, things like that. You will help people, you'll strengthen people, they'll have um improved balance and muscle tone, and you'll get all those benefits of connecting with nature without being um too risky.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Yeah, everyone has the right to have dignity or risk, I guess. Like if you can't say all you can afford because it's something that you enjoy doing, then you know they have right to take that little bit of a risk and have the life that they want to have, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

That's right. And I think that in aged care facilities now we do it, we're seeing the dignity of risk um, you know, promoted. It's a big part of how we and I would encourage people to r remember that but taking a risk is um part of what makes us human. That is part of our humanity, and when we remove that from people, we're dehumanising. And there's enough dehumanising goes on living with dementia as it is. So anything we can do to lessen that. The other thing I would say to minimise risk, things like what what we're calling wayfinder signage in the nature hubs. In our in our living labs. To have think think about um points in the outdoor spaces that can help people navigate um back to where they started. I don't mean creating figure of eight paths or anything like that. We need to allow people to move through the space and also to go where they feel drawn to in the space. What is it they want to see, what is it they want to do. But some sort of arrow system or or recognizable signs or little maps in different places. There's a one of the nature hubs in Tasmania we have self-guided bushwalks, little tiny walks, and people can take the little map in their hand as well as see the arrows in front of them and the seating is marked on the map. So there are many ways that you can make uh make it easier for people to navigate around an outdoor space.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yep, that is fantastic, Pauline. Thank you so much. Do you have any final take on messages for our edge care workers?

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Well, I would say again, I think that just be reassured that the benefits outweigh the risks. And there are a lot of resources available to help people create um Demetri-inclusive outdoor spaces. In at Wiking, we have the Venture Out um website that has a lot of resources on it, and we have some training in taking people outdoors, so um please feel free to get in touch with me. And if there's any way we can help with that, we'd love to.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Yeah, and I will put down the link to the Venture Out um website. Thank you so much for being here today, Pauline, and thank you for sharing your insights with us. Thank you. My pleasure, thank you. And before we go, here is something for you to reflect on. Think about the person you support or care for. What small changes could you make this week to bring more nature, sunlight, or fresh air into their daily life? Do let us know. Thanks for listening to Voices in Dream today, connecting you to community of age care workers to support you to support people living with dementia. If you found this episode helpful, share it with a coworker or even mention during your handover. Let's keep building a strong connected care team. Follow the Weeking Center on Facebook and LinkedIn for more episodes and free resources. And also to keep learning and growing, check out our free courses like Dream Program, equip learning and understanding and preventing dementia. Take care of yourself and those you support. And see you next week on Voices in Dream. Bye.