What happens when you rethink therapy through the lens of biophilic design? In the United States, a group of parents and practitioners have created TrailHouse: a nature-connected therapeutic environment where children can feel safe, explore their world and, most importantly, be themselves.

For Cole Walsh-Davis, Mary Maier and Brenda MacMillan, that realisation came through their own experiences of raising neurodivergent children and working with families. Despite their combined knowledge and experience, they struggled to find a therapeutic environment that reflected what they knew human beings needed to feel safe, connected and able to flourish. So, rather than accept the limitations of existing provision, they decided to create something themselves.

What happens when we stop seeing ourselves as separate from nature and begin to recognise that we are nature? For artist Jaime Jackson, the answer lies in creativity, collaboration and the simple act of paying attention. It is a way of rediscovering our place in the living world, bringing communities together and imagining a more hopeful future.

Through his socially engaged art practice, Jaime brings together children, communities, scientists and fellow artists to explore our relationship with the living world. His work offers a refreshing perspective on the ecological crisis: rather than beginning with fear, guilt or a list of things we must change, it starts with our innate capacity for wonder, empathy and connection.

What if every roof in London that could support nature became a living habitat? What if, instead of recreating the gardens and meadows we have always known, we designed our cities around the life that can actually thrive in them? For Dusty Gedge, pioneering green roof advocate and urban biodiversity expert, this is more than an appealing idea. It is a practical vision for the future of our cities, challenging the way we think about green roofs, urban nature and the role of biophilic design.

As climate change brings increasingly extreme temperatures, heatwaves and intense rainfall, we need to rethink what we plant, where we plant it and what we expect nature to do. In our conversation for the Journal of Biophilic Design, Dusty made one thing clear: the objective is not just to make our cities “green”, it is to put life back into them. And just like the Journal here, he encourages us to go back to the original meaning of Biophilia to help us understand the bigger picture.

There are many places where we can feel an overwhelm, for some of us, the overwhelm can be, well, overwhelming and trying to find somewhere to recalibrate can be difficult. 

So how can design help us feel safe, connected and able to participate in the world? Designer and interdisciplinary artist Freyja Sewell begins with nature, sensory experience and a willingness to imagine things differently.

As a neurodivergent designer herself, Freyja is founder of HUUS Design, where she brings together art, technology, nature and sensory design to create gorgeous woven soft felt pods and other products including digital capability to help create environments that support human experience better. Her work is also woven by an ambition to make positive futures tangible.

In conversation with the Journal of Biophilic Design Podcast, Patrick Keogh explores why the future depends on bringing different worlds together, learning from nature and having the courage to act.

What kind of future do we want to live in? The way we design our buildings, organise our businesses, invest our money and relate to the natural world lies at the heart of this year's Blue Earth Summit, taking place at Woolwich Works in London from 14–16 October 2026. Bringing together people from business, science, investment, culture, sport and the environmental world, the Summit aims to move beyond familiar conversations about sustainability and explore how we can create a more regenerative future.

In the latest episode of the Journal of Biophilic Design Podcast, I spoke to Patrick Keogh, who leads the Blue Earth Summit programme, about the importance of interdisciplinary thinking, the lessons we can learn from nature, and why we need to turn our knowledge of environmental challenges into meaningful action.

Explore the Blue Earth Summit programme and book your ticket.

The Glasshouse is using horticulture, employment and a deep connection with nature to give women leaving prison something they often desperately need: dignity, confidence and the chance to build a different future. I am joined by co-founder Kali Hamerton-Stove alongside Ri, who came through the programme herself and now works on the senior team.

A plant needs the right conditions, nourishment, care, light and time. Give it those things and given the opportunity, it grows. For Kali Hamerton-Stove, co-founder of The Glasshouse, this has become the foundation of an extraordinary social enterprise supporting women approaching the end of their prison sentences.

Light: The Missing Element in Biophilic Design

Light is far more than something that allows us to see. It is a powerful biological signal, influencing our body clocks, mood, alertness, sleep and sense of wellbeing. In this fascinating conversation, Dr Shelley James, “The Light Lady”, explores how our brains and bodies respond to light — and why biophilic designers need to pay much closer attention to it.

From the difference between Kelvin and colour rendering to the restorative rhythms of daylight, Shelley reveals how thoughtful lighting can help us create spaces that work more naturally with our biology. She also explores prospect and refuge, moving shadows, contrast and even the remarkable ways our brains interpret light as a signal of the natural world.

Discover why good biophilic design begins not just with bringing nature into a space, but with understanding the light that makes us feel at home in it.

Natural environments contain variation, contrast, shadow, movement and changing horizons. Light filters through leaves, reflects from water, changes with clouds and seasons, and gradually shifts from morning to evening.

Our visual systems evolved within this complexity.

Shelley describes the brain as looking for patterns that are familiar from the natural world — an appropriate balance of order and complexity, rather than either complete uniformity or overwhelming contrast. Even something as simple as dappled light and moving shadows can provide the kind of non-rhythmic visual stimulus associated with nature….

To coincide with the launch of our new monograph, Nature Preserved: The Definitive Guide to Preserved Plants, we talk to its author, Edgardo Rossi, known as The Green Man, about the thinking behind the book and his pioneering Green Lock System. What has years of working with preserved botanical material taught him about design, sustainability and the spaces we inhabit? We explore when living plants should come first, why designers need to walk the space before choosing the greenery, and how cork, bio-based materials and real preserved plants come together. We also challenge common misconceptions about longevity, maintenance and air quality—and ask why real nature should never be forced or faked.

What happens when we step away from the noise of everyday life and enter a space designed to help us restore, reconnect and simply breathe?

How do we create places for wellbeing? Light, temperature, air quality, acoustics, materials, smell and even silence are not merely aesthetic considerations. They form the sensory environment in which our bodies and minds operate. Ali points to natural light as particularly important, both for circadian rhythms and mood, while comfortable temperatures and fresh, clean air can help create an environment in which people can relax rather than remain on alert.

What happens when architecture is designed around how people feel, not simply how buildings perform? Robert Hopkins, architect and sustainability leader at AHR, joins the Journal of Biophilic Design podcast to explore the thinking behind landmark projects including The Spine, Thrive Health and Wellbeing Centre and the Daphne Steele Building. From trauma-informed design and evidence-based decision making to materials, air quality, nature, choice and collaboration, Robert shares how small decisions can transform how people experience a place. His advice? “Don’t chase points” — focus on the why. Listen to the conversation and discover why, for Robert, great architecture might ultimately be about helping people be nice to one another. WATCH THE INTERVIEW