The power of the natural world.

[Kwenda]

Nature is ‘ Balm for the soul ‘.

There is a worldwide movement to acknowledge the power of being out in the natural world.

As far back as Florence Nightingale this was acknowledged, but then was somehow lost when new miracle drugs like penicillin became available. Science and soulless office like drab modernistic hospitals became the norm.

But we find that in hospitals with a green view from the windows the patients recover faster. So hospitals are now being built that have gardens and trees, older hospitals are creating green spaces.

See original New York Times article on this subject :- nytimes.com/1994/12/29/gard...

Dick

[PaulaS Volunteer]

Nice article. I think there's a lot of truth in it, that's been forgotten these days.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

I have to wonder what the impact of getting more and more removed from nature will be on humanity. In Australia, the 'quarter acre block' was traditionally the much sought after home, with a lawn in front and back as well as a flower and vegetable garden and a few fruit trees. Homes have increased in size while the blocks have shrunk, so new homes are now often 2 storey to get enough living space. Half or more of the house frontage is taken up with a driveway, typically into a double garage and there's no room for on street parking. There's usually no room for a garden or lawn or if there is a lawn, it is increasingly artificial (with the recent decade long drought in my state driving that trend). The fact that we hold on to our lawns in such a dry country despite rapidly increasing water bills says a lot about our need to surround ourselves with greenery.

Seems we'll soon be going to hospital to see some green views!!

Last week I went for a walk in a new housing estate. The smallest blocks were 300m2, less than a third of the size of the traditional house block and land prices haven't gone down. I walked past the front of an apartment block and it was 5 steps between front doors. All this is a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world! Sadly, with our growing population, our good farmland is being built over.

In the UK, I hear you now have the highest population density of all European countries outside the city states.

Why don't we have more roof gardens?

Neil

[jangreen]

I'm sure that pushing too many people into concrect jungles tansforms ordinary people into savage beasts all fighting for their own space. Now on the London underground its been offically acknowledged that people have less space than cattle being transported. The situation is becoming worse every day. Where I live (on the edge of the green belt) the pressure on land is extreme with houses being pulled done and flats being put up instead. But their are no extra hospitals or Dr's or dentists or schools what happens to all the waste I rather not think about but its got to go somewhere. So I hope that there is enough public pressure to stop the building over of whats left of our once green and pleasent land.

[Hidden]

On this subject I despair and could rant on. Too many people, too many new homes that have to be built. Where I live on the edge of the city we had to fight tooth and nail to stop them tearing down a little public house with a small restaurant in the centre of our estate, to build a large block of flats, effectively at the bottom of many peoples gardens.

Glad my garden backs onto a cemetery, no plans to build on that. I'm so lucky to have a garden, which I appreciate every day. Nature just a walk away so the article is so right.

A new estate has been built nearby, and like in Australia, they are squashed together, maybe a half metre of grass outside and 3 stories high to accomodate a small family. Tomorrows slums I fear.

[Newdawn Administrator]

I'd always imagined Australia as the land of the bungalows Neil especially in the 'burbs...can't see this high rise concept being popular there although inevitable in the cities.

It isn't really the countryside that soothes my soul when it's troubled, it's the coast and the sea. But I do despair when I see sprawling estates with no infrastructure. And they always call them 'villages' to soften the blow!

Newdawn