“The evidence from our research also identified that increasing engagement with the current outside space has little to do with needing more time, more money, or more staff.

Rather, it is all about the value placed by the care setting as a whole on the outdoor space to aid in the care and support of individual residents. Some of the most actively used gardens in our research were those that had the least money spent on them and the fewest features.”

As an Eco Gerontologist passionate about optimizing the therapeutic use of outdoor spaces, I highly recommend the Care Culture Handbook and Map. These tools are easy to understand and are perfect for engaging your care team to value outdoor engagement as a form of care. The Care Culture Map is a fantastic diagnostic tool to assess where your community stands and to discover simple ways to elevate your care to the highest level: ‘Relationship-Centered Care’.

Fully Valuing ‘daily’ outdoor engagement as a form of care is key to maximizing the therapeutic benefits of outdoor spaces. Thank You so much Debbie and Mark!!!