La Vie Nouvelle Landscape and Wetlands make moving to a retirement village an exciting prospect.
The thought of ageing can bring on grey hairs. Many of us look forward to retiring, but when it finally arrives it brings its own set of challenges.
Many retirees who have spent their lives working, find the new freedom difficult. Sometimes it’s overwhelming, sometimes boredom can creep in. Keeping up with the advances in the rest of the world becomes impossible.
An exciting new phase of life begins
La Vie Nouvelle means ‘New Life’ in French, and that’s what this unique retirement estate is providing its residents. More than just an estate that houses retirees, La Vie Nouvelle invites its residents to enjoy the outdoors. For this purpose, they provide a rich and diverse natural landscape.
The 4 major ways nature affects our health
Spending time in nature has positive effects on your health. Here are a few interesting points that recent health studies have discovered:
- Mental health: 20 minutes per day outdoors can almost halve the symptoms of depression.
- Inflammation: there’s research indicating that time outdoors lowers inflammation levels in the body.
- Fresh air and gentle sunshine help to boost our vitamin D levels and help with the circulation of oxygenated blood.
- Gentle exercise, like walking outdoors, is roughly 20% more beneficial than exercising indoors.
Holland has over 600 farms offering eco-therapy (a treatment where patients are outdoors as much as possible) for people who battle with various mental illnesses.
If being in nature holds this much benefit to those who are mentally ill, imagine what it can do if we make it part of our daily lives. La Vie Nouvelle has created the perfect for setting for ‘happily ever after’.
The landscape of La Vie Nouvelle’s wetland
Grieta Webb did the landscaping design. It’s built around an existing wetland on the property. She brought to life the elements that would encourage residents to spend more time outdoors.
FSG stepped in to assist with the installation of the wetland. This would encourage birdlife that would live in a wetland area.
Throughout the process, it was important to keep all the natural fauna and flora undisturbed. It was a challenge, but FSG is always up for a project that’s tricky.
FSG’s muscle involved shaping and hydroseeding. It also involved stone pitching to prevent erosion, because the wetland will also store stormwater. Gabion construction, planting, and paving were all part of the package.
Walkways, benches, and trails
How would residents enjoy the wetland without walkways? Walkways and meticulous bridges and pathways wind through the estate and take walkers on a scenic route.
We removed non-indigenous trees and we used the wood to create nesting boxes for birds. This adds greater value to both man and animal, as it further builds on the fantastic range of wildlife.
The walkways weave effortlessly through the trees and over the water, allowing walkers to enjoy nature up close.
Wildlife and birdwatching in the wetland
Nesting boxes placed near the wetland (by Grieta Webb) will encourage the birdlife to thrive. There will be such an abundance of bird species, that residents can pursue bird watching as a hobby.
The benefit to man, animal, and the environment
FSG has a great dream. It’s a dream of greening the city, one property at a time. We know that inviting nature closer is good for our health. We also know that by greening the city, we’ll be lowering the impact we have on the environment. We created a beautiful property and a beautiful way of living for those who stay here.
If you’re ready for some eco-therapy and a greener way of living, contact FSG.
