A garden is many things to many people but there is one common thread that brings us together, a garden is a place to recharge one’s soul, heal one’s self, and reconnect with one’s environment. Today on the Roundtable, we are very excited to introduce our first guest blogger, as she is someone who is very familiar with, and a passionate advocate of the garden’s healing and restorative powers.
Naomi Sachs ASLA, is Founder and Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network (healinglandscapes.org) and Principal at Naomi Sachs Design. The Therapeutic Landscapes Network is a knowledge base and gathering space for information, education, and advocacy about gardens and landscapes that promote health and well-being. Naomi received her MLA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1999. While at Berkeley, she wrote the chapter “Psychiatric Hospitals” for Clare Cooper Marcus and Marni Barnes’ award-winning book Healing Gardens: Therapeutic Benefits and Design Recommendations. Shortly after graduation, she launched the TLN’s precursor website, the Therapeutic Landscapes Database, which won the ASLA Professional Awards Communications Award of Merit in 2004. Naomi has taught and spoken about the restorative benefits of nature throughout the United States, and has written and been interviewed extensively on the subject. She has been an active member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the ASLA Healthcare and Therapeutic Design Professional Practice Network since 1999, and served as HTD PPN Co-Chair and Chair in ’05-‘06 and ’06-‘07, respectively. She has served on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture since 2007. She is also Principal of Naomi Sachs Design, a design and consulting firm with a focus on gardens and other landscapes that facilitate health and well-being.
We are thrilled to have Naomi join us for this month’s posting, and encourage you to visit her website to find out more about her and the work she does.
And now, without further ado, here is Naomi’s contribution, and those of the Roundtable members, to this month’s topic, “Therapy and Healing”.
Naomi Sachs : Therapeutic Landscapes Network : Beacon, NY
Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA
Ivette Soler : The Germinatrix : Los Angeles, CA
Jenny Petersen : J Petersen Garden Design : Austin TX
Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK
Such great posts! I love all of the different perspectives on this topic, and of course the pictures are fabulous. Thanks again to all the Roundtable folks for the chance to participate.
Thanks for making our making it such a fab experience for us Naomi! 🙂
Great posts! Bounty of information so inspiring. Thank you all for your contributions. It is so great to see the bridge made between research on/about facilities and residential design. Keep up the good work all!
Thank you Annie, It means a lot to all of us!
Here’s today’s Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog post, “Labyrinths as Therapeutic Landscapes,” inspired by Jenny and Lesley and Robert’s: http://www.healinglandscapes.org/blog/2010/11/labyrinths-in-the-healing-garden/. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for the link Naomi!
Naomi, I just checked out your Healing Landscapes Network site and love it! Will be back to check it out more, a great resource.
Thank you, Lorraine. You can join the mailing list here (http://www.healinglandscapes.org/support-newsletter.html) and we have a Facebook page here (http://www.facebook.com/therapeuticlandscapes). Glad to have you with us.