Author: Anne

As university students, it’s needless to say that we all experience some form of mental fatigue.  It can clearly seen through short attention spans, impulsive snarky comments, and even those mid-week break downs we all experience.  In the book With People In Mind, the Kaplans explore how this mental fatigue can be combated through restorative settings.  In order for people to feel re-energized, they need to put themselves in a space that a) is away from their source of mental fatigue and b) offers opportunities for quiet fascination (like cloud watching, as opposed to football game watching).  Exposure to the outdoors and being in natural settings has been proven to reduce stress levels significantly.

More recently, nature is being used in medicine.  By that, I do not mean that herbal medicine is trending.  Physicians are encouraging people to spend more time outdoors. According to this article by Business Insider, spending time outdoors increases immunity system, helps fight anxiety and depression, and lowers blood pressure.  Moreover, the introduction of eco-therapy helps people relax, increase physical activity, create social support systems, improve mental health, instill awe, and increase exposure to fresh air.

One extraordinary example of nature being used to improve mental health is The Green Road.  A medical complex in Bethesda, this place strives to use nature to help veterans deal with war-related trauma like PTSD and TBI.  Being in a natural settings helps heal, restore, and unify the soul because it offers a place for veterans to reflect on experiences away from war-zone.  The video highlighted that war is a wild trauma and needs to be combated and healed with something just as wild.  That’s why nature has the ability to heal trauma through finding solace by connecting veterans to life rather than death.

The importance of nature has been greatly overlooked in recent years.  There has been a radical shift in the way society views nature.  Like the smartphone paradigm shift we discussed in class, technology has greatly limited that amount of time spend outdoors.  Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv highlights the “nature-deficit disorder” experienced by the current generations.  In addition to the addiction to technology and spending time indoors, urbanization has also negatively impacted the amount of nature available to to play in.  Technology addiction has clear links to poor mental health; nature can combat this.  The amount of kids who struggle with mental health keeps growing and sometimes, exposure to the outdoors can be used complementary to or supplementary for therapy.  Just being outside increases social interactions and encourages mind clearing.

Landscapes have such power over the physical and emotional well-being of people.  As designers, it’s important to understand that landscapes can be interpreted differently by everyone.  To each and every person, a place can mean something different, and that’s what gives it meaning.

Last time I visited Sequoia National Park, I learned the difference between conservation and preservation.  Both are important in the maintenance of the environment, but conservation is the management of valuable resources and preservation is the protection of resources we already have.  In the same way, I want to explore the difference between the strive for sustainability and the strive for resiliency in a place.  In the last post, sustainability was defined as reducing our ecological impact so that we all don’t die.  Resiliency, on the other hand, is recovering from or bouncing back from [ecological] damage.

In a reading by Starke and Simonds, we learned that nature cannot be conquered.  In the past, we’ve seen humans attempting to control nature through ambitious design and over-consumption.  They argue that nature is too grand to be known by man.  We may have climbed the tallest mountain or dived the deepest trench, but so much more about our earth has yet to be discovered and/or explained.  We don’t stand a chance against the forces of nature.  This can be clearly seen through the increased frequencies of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods.  No matter what preventative measures we take, these natural disasters destroy everything we’ve so pridefully built.

An example of a resilient place we’ve recently studied in class is Ellicott city.  This historically-rich community is located in the deepest part of a depression leading down to a river.  This makes it extremely susceptible to flash flooding.  In 2016 and 2018, it experienced two massive floods, both at a scale of 1/1000 chances of happening.  The effects of this natural disaster were clearly devastating to the townspeople and the planners because right after the first blow, a second arrived.  In addition to the loss of historically important buildings, cars, and railways which ended up in the river, the city’s economy was destroyed.   City planners worked together to a) immediately restore what was in shambles and b) develop a long term plan that would mitigate the effects of future flash floods.  Many changes to infrastructure occurred, such as building more flat, open areas upstream in attempt to slow streamflow as it moves downhill and gains dangerous velocity.  Thinking of a solution that does not heavily affect the historic culture, but also builds resiliency in the community is challenging but literally life-saving.

Why is it so important?  Although natural disasters are not necessarily caused by humans, anthropogenic factors are increasing the frequencies of them.  And since nature is not conquerable, we must work on creating sustainable AND resilient communities.  As Greta Thunberg pointed out in her speech at the UN convention, “we are at the beginning of a mass extinction.” People, including those in power, need to be doing more if an impact is to be made.

One of the reasons I wanted to study Landscape Architecture was that I was interested in creating eco-friendly designs.  Because the earth is, in all honesty, on fire, the idea of trying to save our only home was easily appealing to me.  I’m not here to debate whether climate change exists or not, because it does…THERE’S NO PLANET B, PEOPLE!

This week, we had a reading from the Sustainable Sites Initiative, which defined sustainability as “design, construction, operations, and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  We live in a very complex feedback loop where all living (and arguably abiotic) things are interconnected and interdependent.  Since this balance of life is so delicate, designers must take this into account when creating places.  Undoubtedly, humans have become the biggest shapers of our world and many of our actions have had negative consequences.

In terms of landscape design, there are a few things that greatly contribute to the ecological footprint we’ve left and are continuing to leave behind.  One of them is the mishandling of one of our most precious resources, water.  In addition to wasteful irrigation methods, we tend to overlook ways we can conserve rainwater through storm water management and soil infiltration.  Another huge problem is soil compaction, which is achieved by people/animals walking over an area frequently, or machines intentionally flattening the land.  This leads to damaged vegetation and reduced soil drainage which lead to excessive water run off which leads to water pollution.  An example of this would be the nitrogen and phosphorous run-offs from agricultural lands.  Lastly, the increase of urbanization results in the loss of vegetation.  This affects a variety of systems, but clearly decreases the oxygen output of a green area as well as increases the chances of erosion since plant roots are no longer able to hold soil in place.

Striving for sustainability comes with a cost.  In real-world projects, professionals work with a budget so their design must be sustainable but also economically attainable.  As contradictory as it might sound, there are eco-friendly methods that actually save money in the long run.  For example, the reading earlier mentioned cited that preserving forest saves up to $10 per square foot in comparison to traditional landscape building practices, and that green roofs save costs in storm water run-off management because they absorb so much of it.

I think that part of our problem is our past (and current) attitude towards nature.  As architect E.A. Gutkind explained, we tend to have an I-it relationship with nature, rather than an I-Thou.  Once that mindset changes, we might be able to see ourselves as part of a grander scheme and respect our environment.  After all, we have not inherited the earth; we have borrowed it from our children.

Whenever I tell people I’ll be studying landscape architecture, they usually dismiss it as architecture…and I don’t blame you if you did the same thing.  I originally wanted to study architecture because, well, I didn’t even know landscape architecture existed!  After some exploration, the deciding factor for me was that the things I could create in studying landscape architecture had potential.  An architect can design a building and the outcome would remain the same for the next 100 years.  But a landscape architect can create a place that could take 20 or more years for it to grow into its envisioned character.

This concept was really eye-opening for me, and I’m sure it is for many people.  My career advisor was telling me that one time, her husband had designed a really beautiful community playground/park. A parent was telling her how much she admired the design–if only they had planted bigger trees.  To that, she replied that trees don’t come as adults!  This, as hilarious of an anecdote it is, demonstrated that these types pf designs require so much thought because they deal explicitly with time and the processes of natural systems.

In a reading from Beatly earlier this month, I read that “genuine places have the potential to be profoundly more interesting and stimulating.”  For me, this means that a place provides more than what meets the eye.  It could be that a place has a deeper meaning to be found by its passersby, but personally, the clearest interpretation of this is the desire to explore.  A great example of this is the Children’s Garden in the Arboretum.  It is organized in a cluster-system which compels kids to wander and explore the different areas of learning (i.e. the bat cave, or the musical tree trunk).

CULTURE. What just came to mind when that word popped up?  A different country?  Perhaps something exotic? But what about your culture? Have you ever thought about your hometown and if it even has “culture”?  Every single place we know–big or small–has its own culture that makes it unique and gives it its own identity.

If you remember from my last post, I discussed the importance of diversity in community culture.  A place should be diverse from others, as well as diverse within itself.  Take Toronto for example.  With over 270  ethnicities and 170 spoken languages, this city definitely deserves its title as the most multicultural city in the world. If you’ve ever been to Toronto, you would have recognized the distinct culture almost immediately.  In fact, its diversity within itself is what makes it distinct. The variety in architecture, food, ethnicities, religion, and people make Toronto Toronto.

Now, I may be biased because I’m from Toronto, but did you catch the Raptor’s history-making win against the Warriors?!(If you had to click on that, you may have been living under a rock.)  That was an all-time high of Torontonian pride.  A place’s culture is very much based on its people and its ability to connect people with one another.   This past basketball season is an embodiment of that concept: people came together to celebrate the Toronto way.  People from Mississauga, Brampton,  and Scarborough gathered at Jurassic Park to watch the game. People of all races ate free McDonald’s fries together in anticipation.  This wasn’t just a game for Toronto–it was game representing all of Canada.  Our city was greatly impacted by this win.  Heck, we even put up a mural of our starting five downtown!

This event was extremely memorable for many, many people.   Why?  Simply because it is our home.  As Lance Hosey outlined in his book,  a “home-cooked” home is especially nourishing.  Embracing a place’s uniqueness strengthens place attachment.  If your heart and people are in a place, there is no way you will forget it.  This ties into a reading by Beatly (mentioned in the previous post) which explores how people are naturally drawn to their place of origin.  Think about it: if you had to do a school project about a place, you would probably choose your hometown because you know it well and you have placed value in it.  You are part of that culture.

Although the concept of “culture” is extremely broad and hard to comprehend, it has a huge effect on a place.  The influence of culture to a place could be historic–like Ancient Greek gods and their personified temples, or contemporary–like the Raptor’s win and subsequent murals.  Either way, I hope you found this post as interesting to read as it was interesting for me to write.  What are some “culture clouts” you’ve been a part of?

Can you smell this picture?  What does it remind you of?   For me, it reminds me of my favourite bakery–debatably a fast-food chain–Tim Hortons.  Have you ever walked into a bakery only to be hit with the aroma of freshly baked goods?  What a warm, homey feeling.  Every single scent we smell can be associated with a feeling–even a memory.  Sometimes I’ll be walking in the city and I’ll get a whiff of something.  I won’t know what exactly it is, but I know it triggered a memory from the wave of nostalgia that hit.  One time, I was showering with a new shampoo and then all the sudden I became really sad because the smell reminded me of my old music teacher! It sounds crazy, but I promise I’m not making this up.

According to an article on Medical News Today, smells can trigger memory recall because the amygdala (part of the brain which processes sensory), and the hippocampus (part of the brain which stores memories) are located close together.   Researchers have identified scents that have associations with certain characteristics; this has become increasingly useful with marketing techniques, or even the recent rave around aromatherapy.

The idea of having a place smell a certain way plays a bigger role in landscape design than one would think.  How would you like to walk into a beautiful garden but then have your nose assaulted with the smell of cow fertilizer or car exhaust?   The smell of a place often sets the mood or environment. Additionally, each plant has a different scent or possibly scents depending on the season.  With an infinite palette of plants comes an endless list of ambiances that can be created in a place.  For example, the Alnap Rehabilitation Garden in Sweden uses a variety of plants to create textures and fragrances that please and calm human senses.  The amount of thought and knowledge required to design such an atmosphere is just mind-blowing.

On a broader scale, the scent is only one of of the qualities that can influence a place.  In a reading that was assigned for my orientation seminar class, I learned that sensory qualities are what give value to a place, what turns a space into a place.  Smells greatly contribute to a community’s culture and enhance its uniqueness and diversity.  And this diversity is what makes us human.

Thanks for reading this far!  What are some scents that make you nostalgic?  Are there places you have visited that had distinct aromas?  Comment below!