The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) and The Learning Network of the Nature and Health Alliance have partnered to bring LAF-sponsored research on health and quality of life benefits to new audiences. A number of Case Study Briefs from the Landscape Performance Series are being reprinted on The Learning Network website, an open-source digital archive of case studies that demonstrate successful strategies for implementing designs and programs that increase access to high quality nature and improve health. Their target audience comprises academics, educators, students, design and planning professionals, and – excitingly – healthcare providers.

The Learning Network is co-led by past Case Study Investigation Research Fellow and occupational therapist Dr. Amy Wagenfeld of the University of Washington Department of Landscape Architecture, whose team produced the Case Study Brief for Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park. With a background in occupational and human development, Amy recognizes that successful design must, at its core, support mental health and foster resilience.

“Applying an interdisciplinary approach where the combined strengths of design and healthcare professions balance and support each other has the capacity to positively contribute to user satisfaction,” she said. “In my experience, well-honed collaborations succeed for several reasons. Designs become richer when different perspectives come together to truly understand the user’s needs and arrive at innovative and creative ways to support and enhance their experience and wants in a space.”

The partnership aims to further bridge knowledge and foster dialogue between the design and health communities. Four Landscape Performance Series Case Study Briefs are currently published in The Learning Network’s database, with more to be reprinted there over the coming months. To find them, use the “Landscape Performance Series” filter.

The partners also recently held a webinar “Prescribing Nature: Designing for Health, Equity, and Connection”. The recording from this May 29 conversation with Dr. Robert Zarr of Park Rx America and Chelina Odbert of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) can be watched on demand. For those seeking credits through the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES), 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW) can be earned upon successful completion of a short quiz.