Few landscape architects have had the privilege of seeing their designs evolve over decades, but Simon Bell has watched forests he planned in the 1980s flourish into thriving ecosystems. His career, spanning forestry, landscape architecture, and well-being research, has shaped natural spaces across Europe, Canada, and beyond. From working with the UK Forestry Commission to leading academic research, his focus has always been on creating landscapes that support both nature and people.
He is a Professor of Landscape and Wellbeing at the University of Edinburgh and leads the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. As a co-director of the OPENspace Research Centre and former President of the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools (ECLAS), he has pioneered research on the health benefits of nature. He will join the III Global Summit on Science, Nature, and Health (April 9-10, 2025) in Module 3, Recent Advances In Forest Bathing And Forest Therapy Research.
The Child of the Moors
“I grew up on a farm in Yorkshire, in the North York Moors National Park in England. I am a country person and a nature person from the very start. Being able to play freely as a kid with my brothers—before there were any concerns about health, safety, and risk—was an incredible experience. We would also go on the moss to collect the sheep, had a pony to ride around, and had forests nearby to play in and explore.”
“When I was thinking about what I wanted to do, I knew: I don’t want to work in cities. I don’t want to live in a city. I don’t want to work in offices. I don’t really want to be a farmer. But I really enjoyed nature.
“That’s why I went into forestry management and started working in forests in Wales. Later, I went back to the University of Edinburgh and did a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture.
“I started with working in forests—in the Scottish mountains, designing new forests, and also working in Canada and other places back in the 1990s. I worked in outdoor recreation planning and design. Then, I got interested in research. While doing consultancy, I started researching accessibility to the outdoors—how people visit forests, recreational planning, and making places and facilities ready for people.”
“When I was first in Wales, I lived in a small village about 10 or 15 miles outside of the town of Aberystwyth, which wasn’t really a big place but beautiful. Now, I live in a modernized town called Dunbar, east of Edinburgh. It’s a small town.
“I also bought a country house in Latvia nearly 23 years ago when I was working in the Baltics. It’s an old wooden farmhouse with 12 hectares of land—some ponds, 10 hectares of forest—in a really nature-filled area, surrounded by forests.”
Pioneering Work in Landscape, Health, and Well-being
“My colleagues and I—first in Edinburgh and then in Estonia—are actually some of the pioneers, the world pioneers, in the area of landscape, health, and well-being.
“We started looking at how people use woodlands, what benefits they get—physical, mental, and social. We studied how to improve access for people with disabilities to enjoy nature”.
“Part of that was helping them visit existing forests, but another part was bringing forests to people by planting new ones in urban areas. That’s how the urban forestry side of things began.”
“…This was a gradual shift—from managing forests and designing them for aesthetic reasons to seeing them as landscapes we want to enjoy, experience, and benefit from.”
“The Japanese did a lot of this, of course, and came up with Shinrin Yoku, the Forest Bathing concept. We now have a new collaboration—a joint lab between the University of Edinburgh and the Beijing Institute of Technology. It’s a joint lab focused on healthy spaces in China.”
Impact of Forestry on Landscape Architecture Work
“Starting out in the big landscape—mountains, forests, and nature—gave me a deep understanding of how landscapes are formed and our role in them. Everything from the geology, ecology, and cultural processes that shape landscapes creates the rich variety we see around the world. I wouldn’t have had that perspective if I hadn’t worked in forestry.”
“The projects I worked on in the 1980s—planting forests, felling, and replanting—have now grown up. The trees are 40 years old. These landscapes have evolved and changed. My designs wouldn’t have remained fixed; they have adapted and been modified over time. I might not even recognize them as completely my designs anymore because, over decades, many things can change.”
Legacy and Impact
“There’s a great sense of achievement when you’ve actually created something—even something modest. It’s a very great feeling to see the difference you’ve made”
“The legacy of seeing things in the landscape, the legacy of people going out and helping to transform the world and make it a better place—that really gives you a good feeling.”
“I’m 68. I’m not retiring yet, but maybe in 10 years—I don’t know. But the legacy of seeing things in the landscape, of people going out and helping to transform the world, making it a better place… that’s what really gives you a good feeling.”
Ph: Courtesy Simon Bell
