The outdoor care retreats let nature give a valuable boost in creating a respite from the sterile and stringent hospital environment.
In Norway, the country’s two largest hospitals with the help of the Friluftssykehuset foundation charity, have created Outdoor Care Retreats known as friluftssykehuset. The spaces offer patients {children} from the welcome reprieve from the stringent treatments and isolation that often accompany long term hospitalisation.
The first of the retreats is tucked into the lush forest near a creek, a short walk from the entrance of Oslo’s University Hospital. The sister building cosies up to a pond in the deciduous woodlands by Sorlandet Hospital Kristiansand in the South of Norway.
Bringing patients outside the hospital the children relax and find the strength to get through their hospital treatment. Being in nature gives the children the feeling of possibility, more energy, hope and creativity. The environment contributes to better disease management.
A circular skylight in the retreat allows for tree gazing and the large glass windows can be flung wide open diminishing the line between outside and in. In this way visitors can peek into the woods, smell the damp forest and listen to the sound of trickling water by still being inside the cabin.
Most children play outside by the fire pit when they visit. The children may also be found fishing, chopping wood, shooting arrows and painting pictures.
The cabins are open to children up to the age of 18 with their doctor’s permission and parents can come along during visits.
Although the cabin is integrated in the hospital campus, its secluded location and natural aesthetics allow it to be perceived as a place of its own. It is a place of muted magic, a place out of the ordinary that provides a generous and much needed breathing space for visitors of all ages.
The idea isn’t a new one. In more recent times, the Japanese government introduced the concept of shinrin yoku, or ‘forest bathing’, urging people to make use of the country’s generous wooded area for therapy.
The Friluftssykehuset Foundation plans to build more Outdoor Care Retreats near hospitals in Norway and abroad. Nature is out there waiting patiently to help us heal.
Tree Weaver 