First Scandinavian therapy garden built in Ukraine
Mikael Colville-Andersen, a Canadian-Danish urban designer, has built a therapy garden in the heart of Kyiv to help combat the growing mental health crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Canadian-Danish urban designer Mikael Colville-Andersen, had been living in Kyiv for 15 months. Guided by research conducted by the University of Copenhagen and Sweden’s University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Mikael decided to build a therapy garden after experiencing first-hand the impacts of the ongoing war, to help those who are experiencing from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.
“Even though scientific research over the past 15 years has firmly established the evidence-based benefits of such spaces in those countries, I discovered through a conversation with a German friend in September 2023, that the concept of Nordic therapy gardens as healing spaces for mental trauma is relatively unknown outside of Denmark and Sweden,” says Mikael. “Many Danish cities and towns now have therapy gardens because of the proof of concept.”
The Therapy Garden has been built next to Pavlov Psychiatric Hospital, which treats more than 1,000 patients and is one of Europe’s largest psychiatric hospitals. The garden build was completed over 11 weeks with the help of a small team, which included Ukrainian architects and landscape architecture company LDesign.
Supporting Ukraine’s growing health crisis through garden therapy
- This video is from Mikael Colville-Andersen’s personal YouTube account
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that 9.6 million people are estimated to be at risk of or living with a mental health condition due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “Traditional mental health services are often overwhelmed and compared to other European countries, often focus on overmedicating patients,” says Mikael. “Domestic abuse rates are also rising fast. There is a pressing need for alternative forms of support.”
Even though the WHO has declared there is a severe lack of provision for mental health in Ukraine, there isn’t a lack of generosity and goodwill. Mikael appealed for volunteers through social media to help the team clear the site in preparation for the garden build.
“I was hoping for 50 people each day on that first weekend,” says Mikael. “I was astounded when 500 people answered the call. Every weekend for the following eleven weeks, volunteers continued to show up to help. Around 1,000 of them had a hand in building the garden. Ukrainians, especially the younger generations, are aware of the issues around mental trauma.
Around 1,000 Ukrainian volunteers had a hand in building the garden
Mikael (front left) and volunteers during the garden build
“A big hurdle is the Ukraine perception of cognitive therapy and their understanding of PTSD. The Therapy Garden is easy for mental health professionals and landscape architects from across the country to get to, so we plan to organise a conference and workshops to share the knowledge we have learnt.”
Designed to meet the needs of the people
One of the cabins designed for those most affected by PTSD and paranoia
“The first level has isolated places for those most affected,” says Mikael. “The second level has spots for patients who are more open to communication with a caregiver, friend or family member and the third has a communal area for group therapy and nature-based activities.
“Pavlov Psychiatric Hospital is situated in a forest and has a lot of long-term stay patients with different mental health challenges. For example, drone combat is one key
“The cabins have three sides with solid walls and plants on the sides to wrap them in, so they feel isolated. There’s one chair with a long view of the trees and the hillside as some patients who experience paranoia may not want to sit on a bench where someone might come and sit next to them.
“We’ve also used plants that offer a year-round sensory experience and climbing plants that don’t lose their leaves in the winter and will also buffer sound and the wind.”
Growing hope for the future of Ukraine
In Ukrainian – toloka – means everybody shows up to volunteer
“I hope that mental health professionals and landscape architects from other Ukrainian cities will come and learn about how the gardens work, why they are important and how to design and build them,” says Mikael. “Another positive aspect of the project is it will open up important conversations about mental health and wellbeing as well as providing nature-based healing.
“I suffer from anxiety disorder, so while I’ve primarily built this for the people of Ukraine, it’s also been beneficial for my own mental health. This has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life.”
Want to know more about gardening for health and wellbeing? The RHS and the NHS are currently developing wellbeing spaces for staff, patients and the local community. See the NHS wellbeing gardens for more details.
