Dear Tiffany,
Thank you for showing me your office. I like your collections on the cubicle wall, especially the mini doll Elsa, your favorite Disney character. I am inclined to think whether this warm and fuzzy feeling emitted from you and the cubicle has something to do with your office location.
From Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel (1812) to Disney's first animated Snow White (1937), all the whimsical stories seem to happen in the woods. That made me curious: what was in your mind when walking in the nearby Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park? Or where was your mind when you stared at this Elsa doll at your desk?
E.O. Wilson, an American biologist, thinks humans are hardwired to seek a particular scene in the natural realm that is calming and restorative. Ever since his most influential work, "Biophilia," published in 1984, many environmental psychologists began drawing more connections between human behavior and the surrounding environment. Rachel and Stephen Kaplan were part of them. They further defined Wilson's notion and backed up with the "Attention Restoration theory," in which involuntary attention, the kind of attention we give to nature, is effortless, like a daydream or a song whispering in our mind.
In 1993, the Russian artists Vitaly Komer and Alexander Melamid hired a professional polling firm to determine what people from various countries like to look at. The poll result suggested that most people preferred a "Savanna-like" view. They all depict a similar landscape, such as "open fields with few trees and shrubs in the near distance, perhaps some wildlife and bodies of still, clear water." Much scientific literature also suggests mental health is affected by access to certain chosen green qualities. Modern landscape architects have also included the "prospect and refuge" theory and tried duplicating the ideal landscape associated with human innate desires.
Whether it's "Savanna-like," a "prospect," or a "refuge" feel of landscapes, these green qualities have been used as a "golden standard" in recent epidemiological studies. A research article published at BioMed Central analyzed a population of 24,945 from Southern Sweden aged 18-80 with a questionnaire related to five green qualities. These qualities are Serene, Wild, Lush, Spacious, and Culture. As a result, they did not find direct evidence supporting their initial hypothesis that accessing green qualities prevents mental illness. Yet, they found out that the interactive effect of physical activities and access to serene or spacious landscapes significantly reduce the risk of poor mental health, and that is especially true for female participants.
So, what do "serene" and "spacious" green qualities look like? According to the research team, "Serene" is a place of peace, silence, and care. It comprises the sounds of wind, water, birds, and insects. It is often in broad-leaved forests, lakes, or ponds. The "Spacious" is a place offering a restful feeling of "entering another world" with a sense of coherence and wholeness, such as a beech forest, dunes, beaches, bare rock, natural grassland, etc.
At the beginning of the office tour, you asked me if I had any suggestions for modifying your cubicle. All I can say is that I envy you for having such an office campus where you can always step out to the terrace and enjoy the view of the park or walk in the woods whenever you need to recharge.
July is the park and recreation month. I don't know if your office has summer hours. If your office happens to have an extended lunch break, please text me; I would like to join you for a picnic at the park.
Your affectionate friend,
Hepburn
While we are still on this subject, the research paper I mentioned above is called "Green Qualities in the Neighborhood and Mental Health — results from a Longitudinal Cohort Study in Southern Sweden." It's an open-access article so you can read it on the BioMed Central website. Also, if you are interested in what other green qualities might look like, here is what I found when I searched my memory.
Oh, did I mention that it is important to include physical activities while interacting with these green qualities to gain the risk-reducing effect on mental health disorders? Check out this place to see what marrying physical activities and green qualities might look like.