sensory garden: lessons learned from the uk and singapore

Sensory Garden: Lessons learned from the UK & Singapore

Hazreena Hussein [email protected]

The University of Hong Kong 17 April 2015

Whitehouse, S., Varni, J.W., Seid, M., Cooper Marcus, C., Ensberg, M.J., Jacobs, J.R. and Mehlenbeck, R.S. (2001) ‘EvaluaTng a children’s hospital garden environment: UTlizaTon

and costumer saTsfacTon’. Journal of environmental psychology, 21. pp.301-‐314.

Photo credit: Clare Cooper Marcus & Naomi A. Sachs (2014) Therapeu@c Landscapes, p.93.

Moore, R. C. and Cosco, N. G. (2007) ‘What makes a park inclusive and universally designed? A mulT-‐method approach’. In Thompson, C. W. and Travlou, P. (eds.) Open

space: People space. London: Taylor & Francis. pp.85-‐110.

Scotland Yard Adventure Centre, Edinburgh

What is a sensory garden? What makes a sensory garden different from any other garden? Are not all gardens sensory? What is a sensory garden composed of? How do people use or benefit from sensory gardens?

A variety of scented plants

•  smell A variety of tacBle qualiBes

and wildlife

•  touch

•  sight A variety of colours for visual sTmulaTon

•  hear Water elements, birds, climaBc

factors

•  taste Engaged with edible plants

•  health, emo@onal and mental Users to be more confident,

posiTve of mind & independent

‘Sensory gardens cannot be designed without considering the human element. Unlike tradiBonal display gardens that are meant to be observed from a distance, sensory gardens draw the

visitor into touch, smell and acBvely experience the garden with all senses’ Shoemaker, C.A. (2002) InteracTon by Design: Bringing people and plants together for health and well-‐being.

'The only difference in a sensory garden is that all components of hard & soN landscaping, colours and textures must be carefully chosen and designed to appeal to the senses in such a way that

they provide maximum sensory sBmulaBon’. Lambe, L. (1995) Gardening: A mulTsensory experience.

70s Netherlands

•  The concept of mulT sensory environment was originated by Hulsegge and Verheul at the Hartenberg InsTtute where they created the first snoezelen room.

70s UK

•  The concept was developed in hospitals, later integrated in special schools as a mulT-‐sensory curriculum. The iniTal idea of SGs derived from the horTcultural therapy movement. It developed more rapidly than SGs, which used to be ‘gardens for the blind’.

80s UK

•  Visually impaired people challenged the iniTal ideas about ‘gardens for the blind’ because the issue of being segregated from able–bodied people was itself beginning to be challenged.

‘The simplest way of causing a riot in any locality in Britain would be to clamp on the able-‐bodied the same restricBons that now apply to the disabled. They feel

that their personal handicaps are bad enough without the gratuitous social handicap of being treated differently from everyone else’ (Rowson, N.J.; 1985: 21)

Sensory Garden Case Studies CollaboraTon Work

Sharifah Rokiah Knowledge Centre, Kedah TherapeuTc Sensory STmulaTon Garden, KL

View from the entrance

View to the centre of the hsg (outer area)

Corner seaTng area – Island – Mural wall

Therapeu@c Sensory S@mula@on Garden, KL

Uncon@nuous circula@on network

Lyndale School, Liverpool

Inaccessible garden feature

Royal School for the Deaf and Communica@on Disorders, Manchester

Lack of water feature

St. Ann`s School, Surrey

Unfunc@onal garden feature


Lack of maintenance

Kelvin School, Glasgow

Inaccessible surface material

Cranbooth Residen@al School for Dual Sensory Impaired, Glasgow

Steps and ramps

Cranbooth Residen@al School for Dual Sensory Impaired, Glasgow

So what is it about the environment that is engaging?

Site Planning and Spa@al Loca@on

Sensory Garden at BCA Academy, Singapore

Scented Sound Touch

Taste

BCA Academy, Singapore

Analysis and Discussion (RSDCD)

Accessibility, Way finding and Circula@on Network


BCA Academy, Singapore

Physical designed garden elements

Lyndale School, Liverpool

Soi landscape and wildlife refuge

Microclimate

It was a misty morning. A young boy with his teacher was having a leisurely walk in the Woodland Garden. As they walked on the boardwalk underneath a shady canopy, the teacher jumped and grabbed a branch. The boy looked at her and wondered why she had done that. Ì have a surprise for you… are you ready?` she asked. Both of his hands were holding the rope railing while jumping with excitement. The teacher had a good grip of the branch, ready to give him a big surprise. She shook it hard with both of her hands and down came drips of rainwater from the leaves. The boy was so surprised; he let go of his hands that were holding the rope railing and liied his arms up while his face looked up to the sky. He was feeling and touching the rainwater. At one point, he opened his mouth to taste it. When the rainwater became less, the teacher stopped and laughed, as both of them got wet (Hazreena`s research journal entry, May 2009)

Safety and Maintenance

Wheeling stream was the term used by Jane Stoneham, who designed a water feature in a special school for wheelchair users. The features gives them a feeling of wheeling in the water through shallow water that is safe to cross over.

•  A good circulaTon network and a variety of garden features affording easy way finding •  A variety of features posiToned along pathways and areas with easy access, afford diverse acTviTes for environmental and sensory learning

ASPECTS

i.  Accessibility to and funcTonality of the garden features ii.  The layout of the circulaTon network, i.e. Sensory Trail iii.  Sensory value, not focusing only on the aestheTcs of visual composiTon

RECOMMENDATIONS

Site planning and spaTal locaTon of the garden in relaTon to the site context; Accessibility, way finding and circulaTon network; Physical designed elements; Soi landscape and Wildlife refuge; Microclimate; Safety; and Maintenance.

So what is it about the environment that is engaging?

Conclusion New direcTons for further research exploraTon scheduled at the

TherapeuTc Sensory STmulaTon Garden, UMMC. It would be

interesTng to examine the use in a Malaysian context. This would

produce disTnct research on the design of these gardens. The result of

future research would produce further knowledge into how the

composiTon of the garden features and the spaTal design of the

sensory garden would enable the users’ engagement and usability

of the garden. Thus, addiTonal recommendaTons and

improvements for future use, planning and the design of sensory gardens in special schools could be suggested.

Hussein, H. (2006) An exploratory study of sensory gardens. hhp://ophoenix.org/gardening/wp-‐content/uploads/2014/06/An-‐Exploratory-‐Study-‐of-‐Sensory-‐Gardens.pdf Hazreena Hussein (2009) Sensory Gardens. Access by Design (spring) Issue 118:13-‐17. Hazreena Hussein (2009) Sensory garden in special schools: The issues, design and use. Journal of Design and Built Environment 5:77-‐ 95. hhp://re.um.edu.my/images/fab/Files/jdbevol5/vol506.pdf Hazreena Hussein (2010) Using the sensory garden as a tool to enhance the educa@onal development and social interac@on of children with special needs. Bri%sh Journal of Learning Support, 25(1): 25-‐31. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-‐9604.2009.01435.x Hazreena Hussein (2010) Using the sensory garden as a tool to enhance the educa@onal development and social interac@on of children with special needs. Bri%sh Journal of Learning Support, 25(1): 25-‐31. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-‐9604.2009.01435.x Hazreena Hussein (2010) Sensory Gardens: Assessing their Design and Use. Intelligent Buildings Interna%onal 2(2)116-‐123(8). Hazreena Hussein (2011) The Influence of Sensory Gardens on the Behavior of Children with Special Educa@onal Needs. Asian Journal of Environment-‐ Behavior Studies 2(4): 78-‐93. hhp://fspu.uitm.edu.my/cebs/images/stories/aj7hazreenahussein.pdf Hazreena Hussein (2013) Paberns of seated ac@vity in sensory gardens among children educated in special schools. Support for Learning 28(2): 73-‐78. doi: 10.1111/1467-‐9604.12021

Hazreena Hussein, Nik Malik Nik Zainal Abidin & Zaleha Omar (2013) Engaging research and prac@ce in crea@ng for outdoor mul@-‐sensory environments: Facing future challenges. AicE-‐Bs 2013 London. Procedia -‐ Social and Behavioral Sciences 105:536-‐546. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.057 Hussein, H. & Daud, M.N. (2013) Taman Sensori: Kanak-‐Kanak Bekeperluan Khas. Penerbit Universi@ Malaya. Hazreena Hussein and Md Nasir Daud (2015) Examining the Methods for Inves@ga@ng Behavioral Clues of Special-‐schooled Children. Field Methods 27: 97-‐112.doi:10.1177/1525822X14537579 Clare Cooper Marcus and Naomi A. Sachs (2014) Therapeu@c Landscapes: An evidence-‐based approach to designing healing gardens and restora@ve outdoor spaces. Wiley. Gayle Souter-‐Brown (2015) Landscape and Urban Design for Health and Well-‐Being: Using healing, sensory and therapeu@c gardens. Routledge.

Thank you to Ms. Syaidatul Azzreen Ishak, research assistant of Sub-‐GC3, UM for cover image and BCA Academy`s layout plan.