New data shows sheds light on the advantages of spending time gardening: In a study comparing cognitive abilities between young and old, those who spent time gardening showed greater lifetime improvement in their cognitive ability than those who never or rarely did. As researchers recognise the vast cognitive benefits of working on the land, more communities are integrating gardening into healthcare – treating all kinds of health needs through socially-prescribed activities in nature, or green prescriptions. And with the growing recognition that traditional dementia care models fall short for people with dementia and their family caregivers, one innovation is “care farming”: farms that combine agricultural activities with care and support services for a variety of client groups, including those with dementia.
