This book arrives at a time when there is an ever-growing body of literature to illustrate the emotional, psychological, social, physical and spiritual benefits of contact with the natural world. The aims of the book are very noble: Gilliard and Marshall want to wake people up to the fact that in supporting people with dementia, ‘even the best care sometimes excludes contact with nature which we, and our contributors, feel is an innate need for all of us’ (p. 14). This is the mission statement for the book. There are an array of chapters covering different aspects of the practical and philosophical, personal and professional rationales of why contact with the natural world is important for both those experiencing the debilitating aspects of dementia and their carers.
Particular chapters such as Chapter 6, ‘Farming for Health: Exploring the Benefits of Green Care Farms for Dementia Patients in the Netherlands’; Chapter 8 ‘Animal-assisted Activities for People Living with Dementia’; Chapter 10 ‘Allotments’; and Chapter 11 ‘Creativity Outdoors’, offer practical advice, guidance and illustrative case studies for those interested in how they might incorporate programmes of nature contact for their client group and within their particular geographical context.
Other chapters offer a personal perspective allowing the voices of those struggling with the degenerative process of dementia to articulate in narrative, poetry and pictures how contact with nature both sustains and enhances their quality of life, and this is one of the main messages of the book – how the myriad forms of contact with nature, including pets and animals, has a restorative, calming and positive effect.
Further chapters articulate an implicit idea in an explicit form: that dominant forms of medicalised care, prevalent particularly in care home-based environments, limit and narrow perspectives of both carers and those experiencing dementia, at times making the situation worse for those who are denied access to the natural world which they previously found central to their wellbeing. Chapter 5, ‘From Demedicalisation to Renaturalisation: Dementia and Nature in Harmony’, makes this point clearly and I found the description of the Vicarage by the Sea (http://www.thevicaragebythesea.com), a care home based by the sea in Maine, United States of America, an inspiring example of holistic patient centred care. The treatment facility allows residents the freedom to roam in the natural setting around the centre and also to bring their pets into residential care with them, so maintaining this positive and beneficial relationship which may otherwise have been denied them.
Chapter 12, ‘The Therapeutic Mountain’, towards the end of the book, gives an inspirational picture of what the future of dementia care could be if enough time, thought and care were put into the provision and development of services. Taking its inspiration from the ideas of therapeutic architecture, The AlzheimUR CENTRE in Murcia in Spain takes the mountain it is situated upon, its paths and qualities, fragrances, colours, sounds and light as central to facilitating not only human-to-human relationships, but also those with the sensory world around. The centre aims to encompass a dementia care unit and laboratories with a brain bank, as well as a day centre and a family training centre. All of these are infused with an emotional and cultural geography of place, linked both to the local climate and ways of living, as a form of non-pharmacological therapy.
As someone not greatly versed in dementia care I found the book an inspiration in terms of current practice that incorporates the natural world into care and therapeutic treatment. By giving voice to first-person narratives of those experiencing dementia to articulate the benefits they experience through contact with the natural world in all its myriad forms, as well as contributions from professionals and carers, the book weaves effortlessly between different narrative and perspectives remaining true to a holistic vision of care where the natural world is central.
