Episode 3 with Sandra Schwarz is out now
Sandra translates the research of how green spaces restore humans
Episode 3 is out now, and I'm excited to share Sandra Schwarz's stories and knowledge of the restorative power of green spaces with you.
Sandra is a former secondary teacher turned landscape architect and now author. She's about to release a book called Restore: How Green Spaces Support Human Restoration.
"Green spaces?" I hear you ask. Not "gardens"?
No, Sandra is quite specific in this podcast about green spaces—a term used to describe environments beyond gardens' traditional contexts.
That patch of bush near your walking track alongside suburban drains? That's a green space. A well-maintained balcony garden in a hospital courtyard? That's a green space. A copse of birch trees in a car park? That's a green space, too.
What you'll hear in Episode 3:
Sandra takes us from her childhood in German apartments with railway allotment gardens to her career-changing moment at a Melbourne design conference. She shares how hearing someone describe turning concrete channels back into rivers redirected her life.
Some of my favourite moments from our conversation:
Her first experience in Sweden's Alnarp rehabilitation garden—sitting quietly, stroking a lamb's ear leaf while discovering what would become her thesis focus
How gravel paths can be acts of kindness for people who need warning when others approach
Her role as "chief possum poo and bird bath cleaner" at Royal Talbot Hospital, watching magpie families wait for their weekly refresh.
The science behind the "exhale factor"—that feeling when your shoulders drop in specific green spaces
Why we're losing healing spaces to bigger houses just when we need them most
Some of the gardens and research Sandra mentions in Episode 3:
Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden, Sweden
Gartnaval Maggie's Centre, Glasgow
Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, Melbourne
Nurse and horticulturist Steven Wells
What is Attention Restoration Theory?
Roger Ulrich's famous 1984 study on green views and healing
Kongjian Yu and Turenscape River restoration projects
German railway allotment gardens
Gertrude Jekyll - famous garden designer and colourist
therapeutic horticulture vs horticultural therapy
The geodesic dome structures at Eden Project, Cornwall UK
Beth Chatto's Garden, Essex UK
Ulrika Stigsdotter and the Nacadia Healing Forest, Denmark
The High Line, New York
Ballast Point Park, Sydney
Bridging theory and practice
What's special about Sandra's work through her studies in Melbourne and Sweden is that she's connected the theory of why particular design choices work with practical considerations anyone can apply.
She recognised that many in the landscape industry don't have time to read academic research papers, so she's done that and translated them into the language you can understand and concepts you can apply immediately.
Whether you're a landscape architect, garden designer, or someone experimenting with bringing restorative elements to your home garden, there's something in this episode for you.
Sandra's research proves what many of us instinctively feel: that green spaces aren't luxury; they're restorations without which we can't afford to live.
Listen to Episode 3 of The Sentimental Gardener on Apple Podcasts or Spotify today.
You can pre-order Sandra’s book Restore: How Green Spaces Support Human Restoration here