Plants for a Better Life - 13.08.2008

New PhD project studies how having flowers and green plants indoors affects people’s well-being.

Department of Agriculture and Ecology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, has appointed Jane Dyrhauge Thomsen, who is a psychologist, to work with the PhD project “Plants for a Better Life”. The project is headed by Associate Professor Renate Müller.

The purpose of the project is to conduct a study of how flowers and green plants in indoor environments affect our physical and mental well-being.

Existing research results show that green plants in indoor environments improve the air quality and thereby the indoor climate and the whole atmosphere. “Plants for a Better Life” is based on this knowledge but goes deeper into the subject matter and focuses on how Danes feel that having green plants in homes and offices or other places of work affects their well-being? Central questions include “How do you use green plants and flowers? How do you feel that green plants and flowers affect you?” And “do you experience that different green plants and flowers affect your well-being differently?” Furthermore, focus will be on the role of plants and flowers in reducing stress.

The project cuts across several disciplines and tries to combine knowledge from the social sciences, health sciences and natural sciences to cover all aspects of the issue. Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used in the project, which consists of several substudies. It includes interviews with selected groups of people, experimental studies and questionnaires.

The project is financed by the Danish trade organisation for ornamental plants ”Danske Prydplanter”, the Research School of Horticultural Sciences and the Faculty, with each contributing a third.

For more information, please contact Renate Müller at tel. 353 33534 or by mail to ren@life.ku.dk.