Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen

1925 1), wanted to make a difference to the lives of marginalised people
and so established the first Camphill community for children with special
needs in Camphill House near Aberdeen, Scotland in 1940 (Association of
Camphill Communities in Great Britain, 2009). Since then, Camphill has
grown into a world-wide network of more than 100 communities in over 20
countries where over 3,000 children and adults with learning disabilities,
mental health problems and other special needs live and work together in a
therapeutic community, many of which are in countryside settings.
During the 1950s and 60s in the UK hospital farms and gardens gradually
closed. This came about because of changes in health policy, disquiet about
hospitals operating large farms, disquiet, also, about the use of patients as
unpaid labour in hospitals. Such a pattern of systematic closure was not
uniformly repeated across Europe but nonetheless hospitals’ reliance on
farming and gardening generally waned for a while. However, interest in
the therapeutic potential of the natural environment is once again growing
as this conceptual framework shows. Perhaps one important turning point
in promoting this growth was Ulrich’s observation that patients recovering
from cholecystectomy (gall bladder surgery) fared better if they had a view
of trees from their hospital bed than if that view was of a brick wall (Ulrich
1984). This also showed that the power of nature in promoting health could
be studied and measured.
The use of nature-based activities as a form of intervention for promoting
health and well-being has not disappeared but a variety of approaches
have evolved, which under the umbrella of green care, are the subject of
this work. What is particularly interesting is that these approaches provide
services for the same client groups as the old hospital and asylum farms and
market gardens, namely those with mental health problems and learning
difficulties. However, the client base has also widened to include almost all
vulnerable and excluded groups.
2.3 Disconnection and reconnection from nature
An important aspect of a conceptual framework for green care is
understanding what conditions must be met for people to benefit
psychologically from belonging to a green care program. The idea that
we may be connected to, or feel a sense of connectedness with, natural
things occurs frequently in the academic and more popular literature on
1 Much of Steiner’s writings are available on the internet from the Rudolph Steiner Archive: www.rsarchive.org
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