Feeling stressed at work? You’re not alone! April 18 – 24 was Work with Nature Week – a campaign to encourage Australians to engage with the natural environment. According to the campaign, nature can improve your concentration and make you a sharper and more creative thinker.

Research abounds showing the positive effects of nature on wellbeing. Time in nature helps us ease stress, recover from mental fatigue, and restore concentration. Lower blood pressure, improved concentration, and more positive emotions have also been identified in people who spend time in a natural environment versus an urban environment.

Attention Restoration Theory (ART) explains that restoration requires a different experience – such as “getting away” – in an environment that is together interesting, non-threatening and realistic. If you have spent your morning in a meeting room or office, a park with trees and perhaps a pond or fountain is about as different as you can get.

But, what about the many people who spend their working lives in a decidedly urban CBD?

Times are changing, and urban ecologists are thinking big in terms of incorporating nature into cities. Thankfully, innovative urban landscape technology leveraging water sensitive design is making it possible to incorporate trees into even the most challenging of hardscaped locations. The key is making this a top priority for councils and private developers alike. This is another objective of the Work With Nature campaign: to remind decision-makers that we need nature in our cities. There are many forms it might take, with urban tree pit technology, vertical gardens, and rooftop gardens providing plenty of options.

To learn more about the latest in urban landscape solutions, click here.
Source: The Conversation

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