Matera
7 weeks group project in collaboration with therapy garden Møllebæck
Take a look at our project, Matera and how we
co - designed with the participants
co - designed with the participants
Continue below ︎
Context
Terapihaven Møllebæk in Kolding works with nature-based therapy for e.g. stress, where they offer group therapy courses in the garden for 12 weeks led by trained therapists. Nature has a very special ability to give us humans peace of mind. And working with people through using nature was something that appealed to us a lot!
One of many fieldtrips in order to understand the atmosphere and the garden. This was very important for our collaboration and in order to create relevant co-design workshops
The participants meet weekly in the therapy garden, where they gather around the fire, the heart of the garden, where they are led through exercises focusing on body awareness and senses, after which they have time to walk around the garden and find a safe place to sit for themselves.
Research
Our research showed that when the participants enter the garden they can feel the calmness surrounding them, and when they walk out of the garden, it is almost like a calmer and more clarified version of themselves.
Challenge
The biggest challenge for the participants in the therapy garden was that they only went to a therapy session once a week, which left the participants with 6 days at home – without the therapy and without nature.
“How can we support the process in the therapy garden, which focuses on senses and body awareness, by creating something that can be taken home?”
Dialog tool used together with project leader.Workshop
Through several co-design workshops with therapy participants in the Therapy Garden, we gained a greater understanding of what the garden’s many properties were as a framework for treatment.
Workshop named ‘reflecting through the hands’ which opened up thoughts about the sensations of the garden
We did experiments where we used nature’s materials as tools for reflection and communication.
For example, we used clay to understand how the participants use their senses in the therapy garden. One participant explained
her clay figure this way:
For example, we used clay to understand how the participants use their senses in the therapy garden. One participant explained
her clay figure this way:
“… I sat up on a tree and then I felt as if the tree suddenly had lots of arms ou to the side and I had just asked for a hug and saw all the little arms around me“
Co- design
Together with the participants, we experimented with how to take home a small part of the garden’s physical and sensual properties. For each workshop we created a probe kit for the participant to bring home and use during the week.
In the next workshop we would talk about what they gained from it. This way we sustained their participation in the project, not only when they were present in the garden, but also in their homes.
In the next workshop we would talk about what they gained from it. This way we sustained their participation in the project, not only when they were present in the garden, but also in their homes.
Medallion probe kit that help the participant imprint their surroundings at home.
Probes
One of the probes contained a stone with a red spot on one side and a blue spot on the other. We asked the participants to take the stone home and use it to reflect on the situations in which they felt stressed (the red side) and the situations in which they felt calm (the blue side). The last time we met with the participants, one participant told us:
“I have kept the stone in my pocket, and when I feel the stone, it helps to remind me that I just have to go out and find peace and time if I feel a little pressured”.
The stone itself became one of the final designsolutions that help the participant take home the qualities of the Therapy garden.