E35 Gardening with Benefits (Live)

In This episode we talk about the benefits that horticulture has to offer. We talk with Faith about forest bathing.Faith Douglas set up Forest Bathing UK to bring something back to this country that not only other cultures practice but our ancestors did too.Cultures all over the world practise a technique called ‘Forest Bathing’ – in Japanese it’s called ‘Shinrin-yoku’, in Mandarin it is ‘Sēnlínyù’ and in Korean it’s known as sanlimyok. Some countries have designated woodlands and forests purely for the purpose of relaxation and connecting within nature.Trees naturally give off something called ‘phytoncides‘ or ‘wood essential oils’, these oils when inhaled have been scientifically proven to have a beneficial impact on our nervous systems. This means that quite simply being within a wooded area we can see our stress levels reduced, mood disorders be more balanced and our overall quality of life improved.We talk with Lisa Norton about Biophilic design which uses elements of nature to provide respite and joy to people in man-made spacesBiophilia (meaning love of nature) focuses on the inherent connection of human beings to nature and to natural processes. This indicates that we all have a common connection to the natural world made up by hundreds of thousands of years of living off the land.There have been numerous studies over the last 35 years on the benefits of Biophilic design and improving our connection with nature, these are:Homes: can become more calming & restorative, with 7-8 % less crime attributed to areas with access to nature and can command an increase of 4-5% in property price.Office design: productivity can be increased by 8%, rates of well-being up by 13%, increases in creativity, with reduced absenteeism and presenteeismHospitality design: Guests willing to pay 23% more for rooms with views of Biophilic elementsEducation spaces: increased rates of learning 20-25%, improved test results, concentration levels and attendance, reduced impacts of ADHDHealthcare spaces: post-operative rates of recovery reduced by 8.5%, reduced pain medication by 22%Retail: the presence of vegetation & landscaping has been found to increase average rental rates on retail spaces with customers indicating they were willing to pay 8-12 % more for goods and services.https://harrogategardendesign.co.uk/services/biophilic-design/And Sue wood came to talk about Britain in bloom Britain in Bloom is the largest horticultural campaign in Europe and each year it grows in size and importance and involves more people, groups and organisations creating lasting improvements to local environments.Villages through to cities in the region are judged in Spring, Summer, or both. The special categories which include public, private and charitable establishments, business premises, visitor attractions, caravan and camping sites, schools, youth environmental projects and further education establishments.#gardening #trees #gardeningpodcast #horticulture #nature #flowers #podcast #herbs #vegetablesSupport the show