News and Awards!!
In Fall 2010, Access to Nature received a prestigious Research Honor Award from ASLA – American Society of Landscape Architects. The program had previously received the 2009 Environment + Design Award from CEAL - Center for Excellence in Assisted Living. CEAL is a coalition of 11 national organizations focused on quality of care for older people.
In 2005, an earlier prototype of the Access to Nature program also won the Active Place Design Competition award in product design from EDRA - Environmental Design Research Association, and a Viewer's Choice award from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Overview of project
Backed by current research, Access to Nature is a multimedia educational program on improving outdoor access for older adults.
This set of three videos, interactive exercises, and a continuing education course form a powerful learning tool in a format that can easily be applied by designers, administrators, activity directors, gerontologists, and others involved with senior housing.
These guidelines show how to plan outdoor space to benefit health, increase physical activity, and improve quality of life in residential settings at all levels of care.
Importance of Nature
Research shows that spending even brief periods of time outside can improve health and well-being. Why is it, then, that so many outdoor areas are seldom used by elderly residents?
Poor design may play a large part in this problem.
This program shows that it is possible, with little increase in cost, to develop outdoor space that is inviting and usable, leading to benefits such as higher levels of physical activity, improved mood, better hormone balance, and better sleeping patterns.
Who are we? Credits for this Program |
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| People and Organizations |
| A large number of people in several different disciplines have participated in this project at various stages -- from the research and analysis phase, to the design and development of the educational program. We greatly appreciate everyone who contributed to making this a useful and important tool to improve quality of life for older adults. |
| Special thanks to the following people: |
| Teresia Hazen |
| Legacy Therapeutic Gardens and Horticultural Therapy, Portland, OR |
| Clare Cooper Marcus |
| Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley |
| Chanam Lee |
| Texas A&M University Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning |
| Marcia Ory |
| Texas A&M Health Science Center and Robert Wood Johnson “Active for Life” program |
| Ronald L. Skaggs |
| HKS Architects, Dallas, TX |
| and |
| Renee Grant-Williams |
| Music Services, Nashville, TN |
| Funding Support |
| The National Institute on Aging |
| SBIR Grant # R44 AG24786 |
| Sidney Stahl |
| M.D. Kerns |
| Industry Support for Phase II |
| Connie Beran | Alice Hedt | Leslie Moldow | Cynthia Rudder |
| John Derr | Carl Irwin | Robert Mollica | David S. Schless |
| Mark B. Epstein | Robert Kramer | Richard Ogrin | Lori Walsh |
| Thomas Grape | David Kyllo | Doug Pace | Paul Williams |
| Richard Grimes | Karen Love | Karl Polzer | |
| David Hammonds | Colin Milner | Donald Redfoot | |
| External Reviewers for Phase II |
| Betsy Brawley | Kirk Hamilton | Mardelle McCuskey Shepley |
| Jack Carman | Scott King | John Zeisel |
| Clare Cooper Marcus | Karen Love | |
| Lois Cutler | Erja Rappe | |
| Experts Consulted |
| Mike Adams | Patrik Grahn | Victor Regnier | Timothy Sullivan |
| Pamela Anderson | Maritta Haavisto | Peter Rohrer | Paivi Topo |
| Jeffrey Anderzhon | Phil Jones | Cynthia Rudder | Martha Tyson |
| Antonieta Angulo | Rachel Kaplan | Walborg Ruohomaa | Roger Ulrich |
| Paul Beathard | Alee Karpf | Naomi Sachs | Gwen Uman |
| Barbara Budzinski | Paul Klaassen | David S. Schless | James Varni, M.D. |
| Maggie Calkins | Robert Kramer | Ben Schwartz | Lori Walsh |
| Diane Carstens | John Marsden | Yu-Ling Shao | Judith Warren |
| Uriel Cohen | Mary McGeough | Danny Stribling | Jennifer Weininger |
| Diane Dowdy | Jim Moore | Peter Studl | Jerry Weisman |
| Thomas Fairchild | Johan Ottosson | John Sulik | Yvonne Westerberg |
| Christer Fallman | Andrew Pedersen | Pete Sulik | Paul Williams |
| Research Design |
| Susan Rodiek |
| Chanam Lee |
| Roger Ulrich |
| Research and Analysis |
| Sang Nam Ahn | Matt Cefalu | Min-Gyu Kim | Judy Pruitt |
| Bradley Angel | Chuck Huber | Ross Larson | Jennifer Sembera |
| Samia Askari | Arleen Humphrey | Chanam Lee | Shelley Shahabuddin |
| Philomene Balihe | Cody Johns | Robbye Morsko | Zhe Wang |
| Molly Black | Kimberly Johns | Adam Panter | Trini Watkins |
| May Boggess | Eun Jung Kim | Jenni Panter | |
| Photography |
| Elton Abbott | Teresia Hazen | Adam Panter | Geoffrey Roehll |
| Nancy Chapman | Igor Kraguljac | Greg Phelps | Daniel Winterbottom |
| Clare Cooper Marcus | Ray Mullican | Russell Reid | John Zeisel |
| David Kamp | Eunice Noell-Waggoner | Susan Rodiek | |
| Design and Graphics |
| Elton Abbott | Manas Gopujkar | Taner Ozdil | Eric Thompson |
| Danny Berger | Schweta Gupta | Adam Panter | Ying Wang |
| Shawn Chen | Meg Jackson | Dillon Phillips | Zhe Wang |
| Nancy Crowley | Rae Jacob | Ganesh Rao | Hyung Jin Yoon |
| Mike Droske | Dyutima Jha | Jin Rao | Wenjun Zhao |
| Arijit Dutta | Zhipeng Lu | Nandita Raghu | |
| Tony Forshage | Ray Mullican | Susan Rodiek | |
| Chad Garven | Steve Nguyen | Phillip Steffy |
| and |
| Megapixel Studios, Houston, TX |
| Production |
| Susan Rodiek |
| Elton Abbott |
| Tony Forshage |
| Adam Panter |
| with |
| The Arkitex Studio, Inc., Bryan, TX |
| Video Production and Narration |
| Jeff Blaszak | John Franklin | Robyn McCarthy |
| Khara Emmitte | Clyde Hance | Sean Murphy |
| David Feagan | Igor Kraguljac | Greg Phelps |
| Tony Forshage | Thomas Liberty | Steve Shabek |
| and |
| Frame X Frame Studios, College Station, TX |
| Animation |
| Interactive Exercises - Ganesh Rao with Vinod Srinivasan, Mike Droske, and Adam Panter |
| 3-D Animation on “Improving Outdoor Access”- Meg Jackson, Megapixel Studios, Houston, TX |
| with |
| Blake Smith |
| Phillip Steffy |
| Daniel Berger |
| Music |
| “Alegria Passion” from Shockwave Sound |
| “Despertar” by Aisha Duo, from the album “Quiet Songs,” on the ObliqSound label |
| “Dreamy Piano” from The Music Bakery |
| Also thanks to: |
| Renee Grant-Williams, Music Services, Nashville, TN |
| Gordon M. Gibson, “Solitudes” label, Somerset Entertainment Ltd. |
| Jon Meyer Music |
| Blake Samperi |
| Sean Murphy |
| Special thanks to: |
| John McEuen |
| Video Wizards Music, Inc. |
| Interactive Exercises |
| Ganesh Rao |
| Vinod Srinivasan |
| Mike Droske |
| Adam Panter |
| Website Design |
| Victor Delgado |
| Lauren Gulde |
| Ganesh Rao |
| and |
| Santa Clara Design, College Station, TX |
| Supplemental Readings for Continuing Education Credit |
| Norwegian Centre for Dementia Research |
| Vigdis Drivdal Berentsen |
| Ellen-Elisabeth Grefsrod |
| Arnfinn Eek |
| and |
| Clare Cooper Marcus |
| with |
| Mike Droske |
| Project Coordination |
| Bradley Angell | Jamie Hardin | Adam Panter | Larissa Sandoval |
| Nathan Bertoldo | Robbye Morsko | Nandita Raghu | Sharon Thompson |
| Interviewees |
| Walter Arnold | Jenny Eaves | Patrick Smith |
| Bill Biggs | Lee Ferris | Roger Ulrich |
| Christopher C. Colenda, M.D. | Greg Hunteman | Shanae Wilbert |
| Barney Davis | Marcia Ory | |
| Michael Duffy | Charles Phillips | |
| Additional Interviewees |
| Sandra Alvarado | T.B. Daly | Sandra Miles | Danny Stribling |
| Michael Apa | Tracy Ekstrom | Chris Nevaril | Jennifer Weininger |
| Barbara Brownstein | Jackie Elliot | Kevin O’Donnell | Sara Williams |
| David Collins | Alicia Lohmann | Rachel Randle | |
| Sharon Cudd | Deborah Mahrt | Leslie Sackett | |
| Texas A&M University |
| Len Berry | Kirk Hamilton | George Mann | Murray Regan |
| Susie Billings | Catherine Hawes | Janet Marcantonio | Phillip Rollfing |
| Geoffrey Booth | Robin Hawkins | Joseph McGraw | Martha Tackett |
| Byron Butler | Andy Hietpas | Alisan Morris | Lou Tassinary |
| Preston DuBose | Josephine Hodge | Ian Muise | Dawn Trog |
| Michael Duffy | Linnae Hutchison | Chris Novosad | Anjali Venkataiah |
| Scott Fredericksen | Bill Jencks | Marcia Ory | Ronald Zellner |
| Dolores Gonzales | Carol Lafayette | Judy Pruitt |
| and |
| The Texas A&M University Mays Business School |
| Many thanks to the following senior communities and healthcare facilities: |
| BRYAN/ COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS |
| Crestview Retirement Community | Sheridan on Rock Prairie |
| Carriage Inn | St. Joseph Manor Assisted Living |
| Sheridan on Anderson | The Millican House |
| CHICAGO, ILLINOIS |
| Brighton Gardens - Orland Park | Schwab Rehabilitation Center |
| Belmont Village at Buffalo Grove | Self-Help Home |
| Belmont Village of Oak Park | Smith Crossing |
| Chicago Botanic Garden | Sunrise Assisted Living of Bloomingdale |
| Devonshire of Hoffmann Estates | Sunrise of Buffalo Grove |
| Fountains of Crystal Lake | Sunrise of Flossmoor |
| Friendship Village of Schaumburg | Sunrise of Glen Ellyn |
| Hearthstone at Arlington Heights | Sunrise of Highland Park |
| The Holmstad | Sunrise of Naperville North |
| Inn of Willow Falls | Sunrise of Palos Park |
| Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital | Tabor Hills Retirement Community |
| Montgomery Place | The Seasons at Glenview Place |
| Meadows of Glen Ellyn | Village Woods |
| The Morton Arboretum | Weinburg Community |
| The Park at Vernon Hills | Willows of Hawthorne Lake |
| Peace Village | Woodlands at the British Home |
| HOUSTON, TEXAS |
| The Abbey at Westminister Plaza | The Hampton at Willowbrook |
| Atria Kingwood | Harvest Home |
| Atria Sugarland | Hearthstone at Cyfair |
| Belmont Village at Holcombe | Hearthstone at Riverside |
| Brighton Gardens at Bellaire | Heartland Healthcare Center at Willowbrook |
| The Buckingham | The Heritage |
| Champion Oaks | Medallion Assisted Living |
| Clarewood House | Oasis Lifestyle |
| Edenbrook of Champions | Parson's House |
| The Forum at Memorial Woods | Sugarland Oaks |
| Greatwood Retirement AL Community | Swan Manor |
| The Hampton at Pinegate | The Rosemont Assisted Living of Clear Lake |
| The Hampton at Shadowlake | Tomball Retirement Center |
| The Hampton at Spring Shadows |
| SEATTLE, WASHINGTON |
|
| In memory of |
| Kevin O’Donnell |
| Frank Pley |
| Marie Jansen |
