Dundee student creates seed prescription to help more people get outdoors
- Published
The cress shoots in the "prescription" appear quickly
A University of Dundee student has designed a seed prescription to help people spend more time in nature.
Kirubhagar Ballah Krisnaah, 28, was inspired by an initiative in Dundee where healthcare professionals can prescribe time outdoors.
He hopes the prescription created for his master's degree in product design could help those who struggle to spend time outside.
The seeded paper can be planted by simply being ripped up and put in soil.
Mr Krisnaah, from India, said: "In my second semester, I visited community gardens and spoke to healthcare workers.
"That's where I found out that doctors in Dundee can prescribe time outdoors to help people with problems like obesity and high blood pressure.
"It is supposed to help people go to outdoor community spaces and have a more green lifestyle.
"However, lots of people have busy lifestyles and often don't fulfil the prescription.
"I wanted to improve the uptake with my project and help motivate people to go outdoors."
Kirubhagar's final design of the seeded prescription
Dundee's green health prescription, external connects people with local activities to encourage healthy lifestyle changes alongside typical medical interventions.
A directory offers more than 60 weekly activities to help improve physical and mental health as well as social wellbeing.
After speaking to health professionals and volunteers in a local community garden, Mr Krisnaah decided his product needed to be as simple as possible.
"The prescription had to be a solution in itself," he said. "I printed the prescription on seeded paper, so you just need to tear off a bit and place it in a cup of dirt with water."
Mr Krisnaah with Ethan Daish, food project manager at EATS Rosyth
And he opted to use cress seeds for the prototype due to the speed of growth - they should appear within a week of planting.
He said: "It has to grow much faster as you have to see the change in front of you.
"The idea is that it should push you and make you more curious about gardening.
"It could be the first step for people to go to these community gardens, or one step towards a healthier lifestyle.
"Sometimes the hardest thing can be getting started."
Mr Krisnaah said the prototype could be expanded in the future to feature different flowers and herbs.
The community garden at EATS Rosyth
The product design student shared his idea with healthcare professionals, with hope that it could be implemented in the city.
He added: "I'm not saying it's the solution, but it's a low-effort way of interacting with nature and could encourage healthy habits.
"This could be a way of kickstarting the process."
Ethan Daish, food project manager at Edible and Tasty Spaces (EATS) Rosyth in Fife, advised the design student during the project.
He said he has seen improved mental health and wellbeing among people who use their community garden, and the seed prescription could help introduce more people to the green space.
"Some people have a love for gardening, but we do meet people who are reaching out for something but they're not really sure what," he said.
"It could be that social opportunity but they're not sure what they want to do. Kiru's idea could be a really nice tool for making that introduction a little easier."
Mr Krisnaah's work was recently on display at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) Masters Show.