View of Commencement Bay and Dickman Mill Park, Tacoma, WA
Restorative and Health Benefits of Nearby Nature
Environmental psychologists Rachel Kaplan and Stephen Kaplan have studied the importance of nearby nature for human well-being. Their research shows that nearby nature, even a view of a tree outside an office window, prison cell, residence or hospital room, can have restorative power, health benefits, and provide an opportunity to explore and recover from information overload. Their research also demonstrates that humans have landscape preferences. For example, water is a desirable landscape feature (so are large old trees), as long as the water is not perceived as overflowing, polluted, or surrounded by a hard edge like a concrete berm. Landscape preferences may explain why I choose to walk along the waterfront on Ruston Way.
View of Mt. Rainier from Ruston Way waterfront, Tacoma, WA
Where I Choose to Walk
This week I’ve been thinking about my own behavior as a walker. I regularly walk to and from work, I enjoy walking, and I seek out places to walk for exercise and restoration. The Ruston Way waterfront is one mile from my home and I have regularly walked and explored this site for the past 14 years. I have been reflecting on why some days I choose to walk along the waterfront, when my daily route to work includes street trees and residential gardens. Kaplan and Kaplan define nearby nature as sites with substantial amounts of vegetation. “That includes includes parks and open spaces, street trees, vacant lots, and backyard gardens, as well as fields and forests. Included are places that range from tiny to quite large, from visible through the window to more distant, from carefully managed to relatively neglected” (p. 1). I’m wondering, Do I perceive the Ruston Way waterfront as more natural than the street trees and residential gardens in my neighborhood? Why? Why are the views of Commencement Bay and Mt. Rainier compelling to me (and others)? Are the street trees and residential gardens I pass equally compelling and restorative?
Factors that Shape Action and Learning
I have been thinking this week about how environmental factors like fog and tides impact how other visitors and I engage in the spaces along the waterfront. During low tides I’ve noticed that many more visitors move off the cement pathway and on to the beach. I’ve observed visitors strolling, collecting glass and stones, drawing in the sand, building driftwood structures, reading, and pointing out wildlife and landscape features. The expanded beach space may provide a larger sense of complexity and mystery—landscape attributes that support understanding and exploration (Kaplan, Kaplan, & Ryan, 1998).
Part of studying informal learning environments means understanding my own actions in these settings and becoming more aware of the assumptions and biases that I bring to my work. During one low tide I altered my usual routine and walked under Old Town Dock and under Harbor Lights restaurant. I noticed large populations (communities) of barnacles living on the pylons and discarded cast iron piping. There was a stark contrast of the light from beyond the shaded space. I considered how buildings dramatically change the light and shadow within the landscape. The beachfront bank buffered the sound of passing cars.
I pondered how my time and commitments shape when, how far, and where I choose to walk. One day I took my walk at twilight; on that exploration I noted that there were many more visitors than in the early morning. I was also struck by the way the lights of the Port of Tacoma and businesses and residences dotted the landscape. These views of the landscape make visible yet another way the human population has a relationship embedded within nearby nature.
Resources
Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S., & Ryan, R. L. (1998). With people in mind: Design and management of everyday nature. Washington, D. C.: Island Press.
- Navigating Nature, Culture and Education in Contemporary Botanic Gardens - June 9, 2018
- Vashon Island Perspective - March 18, 2018
- Teaching and Learning in Nearby Nature - March 12, 2017
