Upplevelser av natur utan visuella intryck
In nature settings people often experience positive emotions.
Litterature and theories about the positive effect of nature on
humans are largely based upon visual impressions and aesthetic
preference. The purpose of the present study is to examine how
visually impaired individuals that lack visual impressions
experience nature. The background is about what it means to be
visually impaired and what it is like to be visually impaired in a
nature setting, followed by a presentation of the five human senses
and about stimulation of senses in healing gardens. That is followed
by theories about the health promoting effect of nature, about why
nature and therapeutic gardens make people feel good. After that
theories about experiences and relations with settings are
presented. The six individuals in the study are all seriously
visually impaired, two of which have had full eyesight earlier in
life. Through individual semi-structured conversation interviews the
enticement of the nature, the state of mind and the dominant sensory
impressions followed by nature sojourn were examined. The results
show that the subjects are enticed by being in nature settings and
that they feel satisfaction from following the development of plants
and following the changes in nature settings. This study can be
useful in the creation of gardens, parks and woodlands - not just
for the benefit of the visually impaired but also for the creation
of nature settings that stimulates the five senses for all of us.