(Attention Restoration Theory), in a nutshell, ART, proposes that exposure to nature is not only enjoyable but can also help us improve our focus and ability to concentrate.
Below are 4 common features that have been linked through research with natural environments and gardens that provide restoration.
- Being away – time away from usual stresses of life and “getting away from it all”.
- Extent – provides enough content and structure to occupy the mind.
- Fascination – passive interaction, catching and holding your attention without effort.
- Compatibility – ease of opportunity to spend time in green space and for special populations, its accessibility for the user, their needs and desires. Use is supported, encouraged and demanded by the setting.
You can have a look at a garden or park and decide how you think it may provide restoration. We have given you some examples but this isn’t an exact science and we all have our own preferences.
Being Away
When we think about “being away”, different green spaces will be able to do this in different ways. That feeling will depend on your own experiences. For example, an urban garden in London will feel noisy to someone from a rural village but to a Londoner it could well seem quiet and calm. Ideally you are often looking for a garden to block out the built or man made environment. Screening using plants can help achieve this.
The transition into the space could be important as well. Walled gardens with their entrances can provide a sense of being away. Unusual or exotic plants could support this too, as could wildlife. Think about how you might view it from a seated position.
Extent
Extent is the bigger picture. Are their enough different sensory elements to occupy our minds? Colour, varied greens and soft colours are often considered the most calming.
Is there movement and interesting structure and form? Can you detect scents or sounds of nature? Biodiversity (lots of different forms of life) may well support ‘extent’, as could the garden having different rooms or styles of horticulture.
Fascination
Is there enough in your green space to grab your attention? Are there some striking features or sensory elements? If extent is the big picture then fascination is the close up.
Compatibility
In research, this often refers to the availability of nature and green spaces for different people. When we think about gardening for health and wellbeing we would think about how the garden can support engagement. How gardens or parks do this depends on the person. For some it might be cognitive about making sense of the space or finding your way around a park. It could also be sensorial, for example for people with sight loss, a permanent noise such as a water feature can help that person to know where they are in the garden. it could even be an emotional connection.
- Does it feel like our type of space?
- Does it have familiar elements to the garden?
- Do the features connect us to our own identity, family, friends or culture?
Exploring using this structure to explore a garden or park makes for a great activity in itself and you may come away with ideas of how to improve the spaces you observe. Some ideas maybe easy to change, such as moving a bench so you look away from buildings. Others may need planning and some extra resources, such as an archway to add an extra transition.
As you explore you may find that one or two elements within the garden support more than one of the components of Attention Restoration Theory. There is definitely an overlap between the components but without any structure, it can be difficult to plan and make improvement to a garden that will ultimately provide more restoration and allow gardens to help to heal us.
