Helping make outdoor spaces better places!
Anything new and intellectual to do with outdoor space, environment and health piques my curiosity.
My strengths are in creativity, strategic planning and then getting things done. Being very solution-oriented, easily motivated, I repeatedly strive to accomplish the task in hand, solving the problem. Alongside that there comes a gift of explaining the most complicated things simply. Not all is plain sailing though, I have been known to demonstrate symptoms like paralysis of the analysis and maybe a little too direct on occasions.
Caring about human-scale with an accessible all-inclusive living environment, my instinctive belief is supported by all the research which shows green infrastructure (green and trees) contributes to improving mental health and relieving stress.
My goals are to
- design green nature-based solutions that combat harmful effects of climate change and in Estonia particularly, although it does impact on many world-wide geographic regions, heavier rain, not so much the quantity, more the intensity that is causing the damage
- create designs for outdoor space enabling seniors to enjoy life for longer, extending autonomy for as long as possible; a task crucial for maintaining and improving mental, physical, and social health.
- find more green nature-based solutions to improve mental health for all by giving more expansive views and scenery, encouraging a sense of relaxation whilst subtly imposing a feeling of calm and arousing the sense of being away, relieving stress.
- use sustainable materials and technologies in the design whenever possible, and this will require educating others in becoming aware of solutions that do not impact on the natural water cycle, kill trees and/or natural habitats; using fewer of the materials with high carbon footprints (such as concrete, imported materials from afar) and becoming a leader in this style of design.
I have a background in natural and environmental sciences, qualifying at Tallinn University, Landscape Architecture from Tallinn University of Technology and Estonian University of Life Sciences. Qualifying as a Landscape Gardener at Räpina School of Horticulture and as a Tree Technician at Luua Forestry School.
The above demonstrates my interests in the living part of the landscape and the interactions between living and non-living. That inquisitiveness has taken me from starting to conduct tree surveys in 2008 and landscape projects since 2016.
If I have spiked your interest into making an outdoor space into a better place, contact me! Our future demands from all designers to collaborate interdisciplinary.