Physiological, Psychological, and Spiritual Well-Being Effects of Horticultural Activities in Boarding School Landscape

Article information

J. People Plants Environ. 2025;28(4):399-417

Publication date (electronic) : 2025 August 31

doi : https://doi.org/10.11628/ksppe.2025.28.4.399

Prita Indah Pratiwi^1,*, Bambang Sulistyantara¹, Tati Budiarti¹, Widya Eka Nugraha², Sabrina Salsabila Utomo³, Salsabila Salwa Fahira³, Andy Darusalam³, Nisrina Amila Urfa³, Khansa Aqila Arrahman³

¹Assistant Professor and Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia

²Researcher, Faculty of Medicine, IPB University, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia

³Research Assistant, Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University, Bogor 16680, West Java, Indonesia

^*Corresponding author: Prita Indah Pratiwi, pritaindahpratiwi@apps.ipb.ac.id, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2550-7604

First authorPrita Indah Pratiwi, pritaindahpratiwi@apps.ipb.ac.id, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2550-7604

This research was funded by Community Fund IPB University Year 2024 (Number: 23437/IT3/PT.01.03/P/B/2024)

Received 2025 May 3; Revised 2025 April 29; Accepted 2025 June 26.

Abstract

Introduction

The increasing rate of urbanization and the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia in the past two years have changed the current landscape development pattern. The pandemic has also had an impact on mental health, and it is important to get attention from ASEAN countries. Green open spaces have become the third space outside of work and rest activities. It has increased with the community’s need to exercise, interact socially, and participate in cultural events and education. The role of green open spaces is vital in impacting physiological and psychological health, adding new activity functions, including the landscape around buildings, urban green spaces, residential and housing environments, and public open spaces in supporting engineering and adaptation of new behavioral changes. Various studies have shown that green open spaces can accelerate the recovery of sufferers of non-communicable diseases. In public health studies, nature therapy in forest bathing, greenspace therapy, plant therapy, and horticultural therapy in Japan, America, China, Korea, Great Britain, Taiwan, Finland, and Canada has been carried out (Song et al., 2019, 2013, 2014, 2015; Tyrväinen et al., 2014; Goto et al., 2017; Mao et al., 2017; Hassan et al., 2018; An et al., 2019; Elsadek et al., 2019; Ojala et al., 2019; Cameron et al., 2020). Horticultural therapy is a treatment that rehabilitates clients who utilize horticultural activities to meet specific therapeutic goals guided by the therapist (Sia et. al., 2018). On the other hand, horticultural activity is a process including active and passive, indoor and outdoor, and touching plants, in which the goals are not clinically defined (Tu et al., 2020). Activities related to horticulture in research show a decrease in physiological stress levels in elementary school children (Guo et al., 2024). Moreover, other research that has been conducted on the elderly also shows changes in pulse rate, emotions, and stress levels after undergoing horticultural activities (Tu et al., 2020).

Mental health is one of the important issues in realizing a resilient society and sustainable development. The condition of the younger generation in Indonesia is experiencing mental health problems often called mental illness, which is increasingly concerning. Data from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia shows that from 2013 to 2018, there was a significant increase in the number of people with mental illness in various provinces in Indonesia, especially in DKI Jakarta. In 2013, the percentage of people with mental illness in DKI Jakarta was 5.7% of the population. However, in 2018, this percentage increased to 10.1%, reflecting an increase of 4.4% in the five years (Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Kesehatan, 2013, 2018). It is estimated that each year, the percentage of people with mental illness in DKI Jakarta increases by 0.8%. This increase in numbers shows that mental health problems are becoming increasingly urgent and need serious attention from the government, health institutions, and educational institutions.

Educational facilities play an important role in shaping the character and behavior of students. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has implemented a student empowerment program in schools to actively participate in implementing agricultural concepts through an environmental education curriculum called the Adiwiyata Program (Tompodung et al., 2018). This program is not limited to the availability of large land areas but is implemented by utilizing land effectively in schools (Bahrudin, 2017). Until now, the Adiwiyata program has been implemented in almost all cities and districts in West Java, including Purwakarta. The Al-Muhajirin Foundation is an Islamic educational institution established in 1993 in Purwakarta Regency. Al-Muhajirin was chosen as a role model by hosting one pesantren product for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 for hundreds of Islamic boarding schools in West Java. Currently, Al-Muhajirin has become the name and symbol for the awakening of spiritual awareness, educational progress, and the economic strength of the people in Purwakarta. Al-Muhajirin has seven campus units where campuses 1–5 are located in Purwakarta Regency; Campuses 1–4 are located in the city center of Purwakarta and its surroundings, which are characterized by urban and suburban landscapes, while campus five is located in a village characterized by agricultural/rural landscapes. Campus 5 has access to Abun Bunyamin Mukhtar (ABM) agricultural land. Meanwhile, campus 6 is located in Karawang Regency; Campus 7 is in Subang Regency. Campus 5 has agricultural land planted with vegetable crops (chili, cayenne pepper, long beans, eggplant, purple eggplant, mustard greens, cauliflower) and fruit crops (red and matilda longan, california papaya, miki avocado, bawor and montong durian, crystal guava, coconut, mangosteen, cavendish and sunpride banana, orange) with an area width of 4 Ha. The existence and diversity of vegetable and fruit crops on the agricultural land have the potential to be a means of fostering and graduating graduates who can become hafidz/hafidzah scholars, scientists, and entrepreneurs by its vision, namely the realization of a pious, intelligent, skilled and independent community.

One effective method of maintaining students’ physical and mental health is through a horticultural activities program in an agricultural landscape. The results of a study in China showed that intervention activities, including warm-up, gardening, and feeling sharing has a positive therapeutic effect on students’ mental health. Horticultural therapy can improve students’ self-awareness and psychological adjustment abilities and feel the importance of “team” and “process.” This broadens the perspective and depth of horticultural therapy and provides an effective additional means for mental health education in colleges and universities (Li et al., 2022). The relationship between agricultural landscapes on campus/schools and the health of academics has been studied, and the presence of green space and gardening activities in the educational environment can positively impact mental health and well-being. Kim et al. (2021) showed that students who can see green space through classroom windows perform better on tasks that require concentration than those who cannot see green space. Therefore, from a landscape perspective, Indonesia, an agricultural country with high biodiversity, has the potential to positively impact physical and mental health through a horticultural activities program. Utilization of green open spaces with physical activities as a response to the spread of endemics has the potential to create a resilient society to global climate change and disasters and create a campus/school landscape integrated with agricultural land using sensors, drones, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud technology, and virtual reality, becoming a relevant method in overcoming mental, physical, and spiritual health problems. However, until now, only a few studies have proven the health benefits of horticultural activity programs in school/campus landscapes. This study aims to clarify the physiological, psychological, and spiritual effects of horticultural activities for students.

Research Methods

Research Stages

The stages of the research consisted of four stages, namely (1) preparation, (2) data collection, (3) data processing, and (4) preparation of recommendations. The expected output of this research will be the horticultural landscape concept to support academic and spiritual activities for students (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Research stages.

Preparation stage

In the preparation stage, the researcher conducted a location exploration and, at the same time, asked for research permission from the head of the foundation, coordinated with key informants to announce and recruit the subjects to the Al-Muhajirin Islamic College (STAI) and the Al-Muhajirin Institute of Technology (ITM). The researcher will also conduct a pre-survey in the form of an experimental trial to check the suitability of the time, location of the experiment and control, and the functionality of the research tools and materials.

Data collection stage

The horticultural activities experiment was carried out every weekend for 1 month. There were two experimental locations: the farm and the hall (control). The experiment was divided into physiological responses (heart rate and blood pressure), psychological (mood and anxiety), and spiritual well-being. Measuring physiological effects, especially blood pressure, was carried out before and after the experiment, while heart rate was carried out continuously. Measurement of psychological effects, especially mood and anxiety levels, was conducted before and after the experiment, while spiritual well-being was conducted before and one week after the experiment. Two treatments were carried out on the experimental subjects: a series of horticultural plant cultivation activities and sitting facing the hall on the same day. During the experiment, subjects were asked to walk to the planting demonstration plot and carry out a series of planting activities starting from soil cultivation, making planting holes, planting the seedlings, watering, and removing old leaves or sitting facing the hall at a predetermined viewpoint. In the sitting treatment, subjects did not take pictures.

Data processing stage

Physiological and psychological data from 32 subjects were analyzed. In the analysis of physiological effects (heart rate and blood pressure), psychological (mood and anxiety levels), and spiritual well-being, two tests, namely the Paired T-Test for parametric data (normally distributed) and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test for non-parametric data were used to analyze significant differences in physiological, psychological, and spiritual effects before and after the horticultural activities experiment and after horticultural activities and sitting in the hall. Then, a further test was conducted using Repeated Measures ANOVA for parametric data and the Friedman Test for non-parametric data with two levels of sex factors (male, female), two levels of location factors (farm/hall), two levels of time factors (before/after activity) which were used to analyze significant differences in physiological, psychological, and spiritual effects with three factors, namely sex, location, time, and the interaction of all factors. All data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD), and statistical differences were considered significant at p < .05. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

Research Location and Time

The research was conducted on ABM Farm, Al-Muhajirin Boarding School (Fig. 2), Purwakarta Regency, in September-December 2024. The farm area is located at an altitude of about 578 meters above sea level with a reasonably cool microclimate with the average of temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, and noise on farm were 30.3°C, 69.6%, 49.2 kLux, 43.3 dB, respectively. In comparison, the values in the hall were 31°C, 64.2%, 41.3 kLux, and 65.1 dB. The weather was sunny to slightly cloudy weather during the experiment so that it is pretty comfortable for the subjects. The average temperature, humidity, light intensity, wind speed, and noise in ABM farm are presented in Table 1. The farm area has various fruit plants such as Cocos nucifera, Durio zibethinus, Dimocarpus longan, Garcinia mangostana, Carica papaya, Mangifera indica, Mangifera kemanga, Musa acuminata, Passiflora edulis, Persea americana, Psidium guajava; shade trees such as Alstonia scholaris; and vegetable plants such as Solanum melongena, Solanum lycopersicum, Capsicum frutescens (Fig. 3). The farm area has a clean hall, several lodges, a kitchen, and a fish pond with a gazebo. The horticultural activities experiment was conducted on this farm, and activities included planting mustard green (Brassica juncea) seedlings and removing old eggplant leaves. At the same time, the control activity was performed in the hall area. In addition, subjects filled out questionnaires before and after activities (Fig. 4). The selection criteria for horticultural activities include 1) well-maintained agricultural land, 2) planting beds easily accessible from the break room, 3) flat land, 4) shaded vegetation around them, and 5) control areas in the form of buildings located near the experimental area (Song et al., 2013, 2014, 2015; Pratiwi et al., 2019, 2020).

Fig. 2

ABM Farm of Al-Muhajirin Boarding School.

Table 1

Microclimate component measurement results

Fig. 3

ABM Farm, Al-Muhajirin Boarding School with various fruit trees and vegetables. (A) Guava. (B) Eggplant. (C) Tomato. (D) Papaya and Longan.

Fig. 4

Horticultural activities treatment in ABM Farm, Al-Muhajirin Boarding School. (A) Initial explanation. (B) Filling out the questionnaire before and after treatment. (C) Planting mustard green seedlings. (D) Watering the seedlings. (E) Removing old eggplant leaves. (F) Control treatment.

Tools

Heart rate was measured as a physiological response using a heart rate sensor (MyBeat WHS-3, Union Tool, Tokyo, Japan). The heart rate sensor is attached to the left anterior chest using ECG electrodes (Ambu Blue Sensor R, Penang, Malaysia) to continuously measure heart rate during horticultural activities and controls are being performed. In contrast, blood pressure was measured using a digital sphygmomanometer (Omron HEM-1021, Omron Corp., Kyoto, Japan). The Profile of Mood States (POMS) 2 and State Scale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (S-STAI) were administered pre- and -post performing horticultural and control activities, while The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) was administered pre-and -post performing those two activities. POMS 2 was used to evaluate psychological responses to exposure to agricultural landscapes (Lin et al., 2014; Konuma et al., 2015; Hashim, 2019). POMS 2 consisted of 35 items in short version conforming to six mood states: “anger–hostility” (A–H), “confusion–bewilderment” (C–B), “depression–dejection” (D–D), “fatigue–inertia” (F–I), tension–anxiety” (T–A), “vigor–activity” (V–A), and “friendliness” (F). A five-point Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely) was employed for each item. The total mood disturbance (TMD) score was counted up as [(A−H) + (C−B) + (D−D) + (F−I) + (T−A) − (V−A)]. The items that form friendliness were excluded due to their shortcoming of discriminatory validity with the vigor–activity scale (Heuchert and McNair, 2014). The State Scale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (S-STAI) form-Y was used to measure the temporary condition of anxiety at the moment pre- and post-experiment. The S-STAI consisted of 20 items containing 10 items of anxiety-present and 10 items of anxiety-absent. A four-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much so), was used to evaluate subjects’ state anxiety. The S-STAI was calculated as [(anxiety-present) + (anxiety-absent)]. Scoring should be reversed for anxiety-absent items (Iwata et al., 2008; Julian, 2011). SWBS was used to evaluate the spiritual quality of life. The SWBS consisted of 20 items. Ten of the statements assess Religious Well-Being (RWB) and contain the word “God”; the remaining ten of them assess Existential Well-Being (EWB) and have no religious connotation (e.g., life satisfaction, purpose, and direction). Each item is answered on a 6-point Likert scale, anchored with “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree”. The SWBS was computed as [(EWB) + (RWB)], in which negatively worded items are reverse scored (Paloutzian and Ellison, 1991).

Table 2 shows the alpha reliability for the measurement results of physiological effects from 32 subjects, namely heart rate during horticultural activities of 0.964 and without treatment (sitting in the hall) of 0.984, blood pressure of 0.894, and 0.803. Alpha reliability for the measurement results of psychological effects, namely POMS of 0.792 and 0.808. S-STAI of 0.863 and 0.878, and SWBS of 0.857. The study showed that all physiological, psychological, and spiritual parameters had high internal consistency (0.792–0.965). Therefore, all indices have acceptable reliability for this study.

Table 2

Internal verification

Microclimates consisting of temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, and sound level were measured at both locations at 8 am, 9 am, 10 am, and 11 am. This measurement was carried out repeatedly for 8 experimental days. A portable heat index meter (AD-5689, Tokyo, Japan) was used to measure temperature and relative humidity; a portable light meter (URCERI-MT 912, Shenzhen, China) to monitor light intensity; and a portable sound level meter (MT-9111A, Shenzhen, China) to measure noise levels.

Experimental Design

The eligibility criteria for experimental subjects include: (1) Al-Muhajirin students aged at least 18 years, (2) students domiciled in Purwakarta Regency, (3) not undergoing treatment for cardiovascular disease and hypertension, and (4) in good health to walk for 20 minutes or more without problems. Experimental subject sampling was conducted using the snowball sampling technique through key informants at the Al Muhajirin Boarding School (Naderifar et al., 2017; Pratiwi et al., 2019, 2020; Gierczyk et al., 2024). The subject recruitment consisted of three stages: (1) verbal announcement through key informants, (2) explanation of the purpose and procedures of the study a maximum of 1 day before the experiment, (3) gathering the subjects in a Whatsapp Group to ensure that all subjects receive the latest experimental information. The experimental procedure is according to the regulations of the Research Ethics Commission Involving Human Subjects, Bogor Agricultural University (Number: 1431/IT3.KEPMSM-IPB/SK/2024).

A total of 32 subjects were involved in the experiment in one month. The subjects were divided into four groups, each of eight subjects scheduled in two sessions. Each subject joined the experiment twice on two consecutive days and took part in both the horticultural and sitting activities in a day. Due to the limited availability of heart rate sensors, each experimental day involved eight subjects split into sessions 1 (07:00–09:00) and 2 (09:00–11:00), with four subjects per session. In each session, subjects were split into two groups (farm and hall) per session to eliminate the order effect (Fig. 5). The farm group performed a series of horticultural activities treatment in the ABM farm for 15 minutes at the beginning of the session, while the hall group (control) sat near the hall at the beginning. After each group had done the activities, the groups would swap to the opposite location at the end of the session. Before the experiment began, subjects received an explanation of the research procedure, signed a consent form, and filled out a questionnaire to evaluate pre-experiment psychological and spiritual responses; their blood pressure was measured, and heart rate monitoring was started. During the experiment, subjects participated in a series of horticultural activities treatment at a predetermined location, namely 1) introduction to the experimental location by walking to the planting demonstration plot, 2) cultivating the planting demonstration plot by adding manure, 3) making planting holes and planting seedlings, 4) watering the seedlings, 5) caring for plants by removing old leaves. Subjects filled out a questionnaire after participating in the experiment; their blood pressure was measured, while heart rate measurements were stopped. Subjects rested for about 10–15 minutes. Then, each group moved to the opposite location (farm group to the hall and vice versa). On another day, subjects repeated the same experiment through group randomization again.

Fig. 5

Experimental activity procedure in one session.

Results

Subjects’ socio-demography

The information regarding subjects’ socio-demography is shown in Table 3. There are 32 subjects, 46.87% males (n = 15) and 53.13% females (n = 17) participated in horticultural activities. The average age of males is 19.47 ± 1.96 years old, and females are 20.35 ± 1.46 years old. The distance from the subject’s residence to the nearest green open space or park is mostly within < 0.5 km and 0.5–1 km, each reaching 25.00%. Most subjects visited the park using a motorcycle (71.88%). Dominant subjects, consisting of half of the total subjects (50%), visited a park 1–2 times/week (50%). Then, a total of 14 subjects (43.75%) stated that they carried out activities in the park for 15–30 minutes. Most subjects answered that they did not know about horticultural activities (65.63%). Then, most subjects stated that they did not participate in any community activities in the park (71.88%). Community activities that were carried out included gardening, such as cleaning, planting, and watering, as well as activities other than gardening, such as jogging. After that, the dominant number of subjects admitted that they had never had horticultural activities experience (90.63%). Subjects mostly prefer a half-day horticultural activities program over a full-day weekend program (n = 27, 84.38%). Furthermore, based on sex, males were more interested in planting (25%). On the other hand, the distribution of females’ activity interests tends to be more evenly distributed in planting (12.5%), harvesting (12.5%), and watering the plants (12.5%).

Table 3

Subject information

Physiological Effects

Heart rate measurement results

The heart rate variable was analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test because the data were not normally distributed. Fig. 6 shows that the average heart rate during sitting in the hall was lower than that during horticultural activities treatment, with values of 84.69 bpm and 105.75 bpm, respectively. The analysis showed a significant difference (p = .001) between the average heart rate during horticultural activities treatment and sitting.

Fig. 6

Average heart rate in horticultural activities and sitting activities in the hall, * p ＜ .05, determined using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

The influence of the interaction of sex and treatment factors on changes in heart rate

The influence of the interaction of sex and treatment factors on heart rate was analyzed using the Friedman test because the data were not normally distributed. The average heart rate of males tended to be lower than females in horticultural activities treatment (100.94 bpm, 110.71 bpm) and sitting (80.50 bpm, 88.67 bpm). The results showed that sex and treatment factors influenced heart rate (p = .000). Overall statistical test results of heart rate measurement are shown in Table 4.

Table 4

Statistical test results for the physiological parameter

Blood pressure measurement result

Analysis of blood pressure variables used the Wilcoxon Signed-rank test for systolic blood pressure data, which was not normally distributed, and the Paired T-test for diastolic blood pressure data, which was normally distributed. Fig. 7 shows a decrease in diastolic blood pressure after doing horticultural activities (112.06/71.86 mmHg to 112.89/70.23 mmHg) as well as a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after sitting in the hall (112.13 /71.38 mmHg to 111.14/70.52 mmHg). The analysis revealed no significant differences between the blood pressure before and after doing the activity (systolic blood pressure before and after horticultural activities (p = .660), systolic blood pressure before and after sitting in the hall (p = .480), diastolic blood pressure before and after horticultural activities (p = .143), and diastolic blood pressure before and after sitting in the hall (p = .537). The analysis also showed no significant differences in blood pressure between these two treatments (systolic blood pressure after horticultural activities and after sitting in the hall (p = .258), diastolic blood pressure after horticultural activities and after sitting in the hall (p = .857).

Fig. 7

Average of blood pressure before and after treatments, determined using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Paired T-test.

The influence of the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors and their interaction on changes in blood pressure

The Friedman test was used to analyze the influence of the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors because the data is not normally distributed. Male blood pressure tends to be higher than female blood pressure. There was an increase in systolic blood pressure and a decrease in diastolic blood pressure after horticultural activities treatment (115.10/71.23 mmHg to 118.83/70.24 mmHg) and a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure after sitting in the hall (118.07/71.43 mmHg to 116.13/71.33 mmHg) on the male subject. While, there was a decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure both after horticultural activities treatment (109.38/72.41 mmHg to 107.65/70.24 mmHg) and after sitting in the hall (106.88/71.32 mmHg to 106.74/69.79 mmHg) on the female subject. The analysis revealed that the interaction of sex, time, and treatment influenced the change in systolic blood pressure (p = .000). However, it did not influence the change in diastolic blood pressure (p = .547). The inconsistency of systolic blood pressure after horticultural activities in male subjects might have influenced that difference. Table 4 shows the overall statistical test results of blood pressure measurement.

Psychological Effects

POMS Evaluation

Fig. 8 shows the mean scores of mood subscales obtained from 32 subjects before and after horticultural activities at ABM farm. Significant differences were found in confusion-bewilderment (p = .006), friendliness (p = .007), and Total Mood Disturbance (p = .049) because there was a decrease in negative moods and an increase in positive mood from before to after horticultural activities. While, there is no significant difference in tension-anxiety (p = .097), anger-hostility (p = .056), fatigue-inertia (p = .952), depression-dejection (p = .515), and vigor-activity (p = .181) because there was no increase in positive mood and decrease in negative mood after horticultural activities. For the rest, there was no significant difference between after horticultural activities and after sitting in the hall. Overall statistical test results of POMS evaluation are shown in Table 5.

Fig. 8

POMS scores before and after horticultural activities, * p ＜ .05, determined using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Table 5

Statistical test results for the psychological parameter

The influence of the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors on mood changes

The comprehensive approach of our research is evident in the analysis of the influence of the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors on mood changes. The non-normally distributed data was analyzed using the Friedman test, which revealed significant effects on mood changes. Notably, the interaction of these factors particularly influenced the fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment, and TMD (p < .001). In males, there was an increase in mean scores on positive mood variables such as vigor-activity and friendliness after horticultural activities or sitting in the hall, indicating an increase in more positive mood. In addition, low Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scores across conditions indicated that the treatments effectively reduced negative mood. In females, the mean scores on the vigor-activity and friendliness subscales increased after the treatment, indicating an increase in positive mood, and the low Total Mood Disturbance mean score suggests that both treatments played a role in reducing negative mood. However, there were some differences in responses between males and females. In females, the fatigue-inertia and confusion-bewilderment variables tended to have higher mean scores than males, indicating that females may experience more intense mood changes in fatigue and confusion. Furthermore, males experienced a more significant decrease in total mood disturbance than females with lower mean scores.

S-STAI Evaluation

Fig. 9 shows decreased anxiety levels in the horticultural activities and sitting in the hall (27.4 to 25.6 and 27.1 to 25.9). However, there was no significant decrease in anxiety treatment levels after horticultural activities (p = .051). A significant decrease in anxiety level was found after sitting in the hall (p = .049). For the rest, there was no significant difference after horticultural activities and sitting in the hall. Overall statistical test results of S-STAI evaluation are shown in Table 5.

Fig. 9

S-STAI scores before and after activity, * p ＜ .05, determined using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

The influence of the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors on changes in anxiety

Analysis of the effect of the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors on changes in anxiety used the Friedman test because the data were not normally distributed. Friedman test results showed that the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors had a significant influence on changes in anxiety levels (p = .000). In males, the mean anxiety levels appeared lower than in females, such as after horticultural activities (23.7;27.7) and after sitting in the hall (23.5;28.4). This suggests that males may experience a more significant reduction in anxiety after these treatments. In contrast, females tended to have higher mean anxiety levels than males. The highest mean anxiety levels in the female group was recorded in the conditions before horticultural activities and before sitting in the hall (29.5), indicating that females’ anxiety levels are more susceptible to variations in environmental conditions.

Spiritual Well-Being Effect

SWBS Evaluation

The results of the evaluation of the spiritual effects of the 32 subjects at baseline before the horticultural activities treatment showed moderate to high spiritual scores in the range of 82–120. All subjects’ average spiritual well-being score was 100.3 (Fig. 10). The spiritual well-being score after practicing horticultural activities increased, with an overall average of 111.8 and an increase of 11.5 points (p < .001). Overall statistical test results of SWBS evaluation are shown in Table 5.

Fig. 10

Subjects’ spiritual well-being scores before and after horticultural activities, * p ＜ .05, determined using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

The influence of the interaction of sex and time factors on changes in spiritual well-being

The effect of the interaction of sex and time factors on spiritual well-being was analyzed using the Friedman test, as the data was not normally distributed. The Friedman test results showed significant differences in spiritual well-being in two factors, namely sex and time (p < .001).

In males, the mean value of spiritual well-being before treatment was 103.5; after one week, it increased to 115.4 (an increase of 12.9). Meanwhile, in the female group, the mean before treatment was 97.5 and increased to 108.7 after one week (an increase of 11.2). These results show an increase in spiritual well-being in both sexes after one week of treatment, with a higher increase in the male group than the female group. However, in percentage terms, the increase in spiritual well-being in the male and female groups was relatively the same, at 11.5%. At the beginning, subjects’ spiritual well-being level was good before the horticultural activities treatment. After a week of horticultural activities treatment, the spiritual well-being of both male and female subjects increased.

Discussion

This study clarifies the possibility of the physiological, psychological, and spiritual well-being effects of horticultural activity experiments on students in boarding school (pesantren) green open spaces. The initial study indicated the health benefits of horticultural activities in one of agricultural-based school green open spaces in Indonesia. The main findings of this study exhibited that practicing horticultural activities on the farm of school green open spaces led to a significant decrease in confusion-bewilderment, Total Mood Disturbance, and anxiety level, yet an increase in friendliness and spiritual well-being. Furthermore, the interaction between sex and treatment exhibited a significant difference in heart rate, with males tending to have a lower heart rate during both activities than females. The interaction of sex, time, and treatment also revealed a significant difference in systolic blood pressure in male subjects, who tended to have higher blood pressure than females after horticultural activities.

Decreased negative moods, i.e., confusion-bewilderment; positive mood, i.e., friendliness; and Total Mood Disturbance after practicing horticultural activities were detected. However, there is no significant difference after practicing horticultural activities and sitting in the hall. It might be caused by homogeneous environmental conditions in ABM farm, so neither the activity in the hall nor the farm affects the decrease in Total Mood Disturbance. Further analysis showed that sex, time, and treatment factors influenced the fatigue-inertia and confusion-bewilderment subscales and Total Mood Disturbance. Horticultural activities have been a suitable treatment for children, young adults, and elderly with various needs. These findings align with previous research that horticultural activities, including flower planting, weeding, and watering, affected hospital staff’s psychological condition in Japan, primarily decreasing negative moods and Total Mood Disturbance (Miyashita et al., 2012). According to Oh et al. (2020), horticultural activities treatment in 7 sessions in South Korea increase children’s psychological stability and socio-emotional competence, especially in emotional intelligence, resilience, and self-efficacy. Even horticultural activities in the form of communal gardening, as many as 12 weekly sessions, and three monthly sessions in Singapore, can improve the well-being of the elderly regarding cognitive function, depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being (Siang et al., 2018). The differences of psychological effects between women and men are influenced by their hormonal responses to mood. According to Rainville and Hodes (2019), estrogen affects mood changes in women. Estrogen can improve the mood at certain levels, but if the amount is too high, estrogen can worsen mood. In addition, the fluctuation of estrogen during the menstrual cycle also makes women more sensitive to mood swings. In terms of sex, there is no difference in emotional state between men and women, but women tend to be both happier and sadder than men (Seligman et al., 2005). A study by Matheos (2017) showed that women have higher levels of negative affect and higher levels of depression compared to men because women show these feelings more often than men who hide them.

There was a decrease in anxiety level after practicing horticultural activities and sitting in the hall, yet a significant one was only detected after sitting in the hall. There was no significant difference after horticultural activities and sitting in the hall. Further analysis showed that the interaction of sex, time, and treatment factors had a significant influence on changes in anxiety levels. These findings align with previous research on horticultural therapy programs for middle-aged women in South Korea, which showed that subjects reduced anxiety, improved depression symptoms, and increased self-identity after participating in a 12-session horticultural program (Kim and Park, 2018). Other related research also exhibited that horticultural activities treatment, such as watering indoor plants for 10 minutes by female older adults in China, had an impact on reduced overall anxiety levels, increased feelings of comfort and relaxation, levels of meditation, and mental relaxation effects (Xiaoyi et al., 2024). Then, Shao et al. (2020) also emphasized that horticultural activities, such as asexually propagating plants by children in China, could increase relaxation, a sense of natural comfort, cheerfulness; reduce feelings of stress, depression, total anxiety levels, negative emotions, i.e., tension, anxiety, worry, confusion, and unhappiness so that this activity has an impact on the effect of deep mental relaxation horticultural activities and positive impact on self-esteem, stress, and anxiety. Several other researches also reinforced that horticultural activities significantly reduces anxiety in students, middle-aged women, and the general population (Soga et al., 2017; Li et al., 2022).

The spiritual well-being scale after practicing horticultural activities exhibited an increase within a week. This shows that the horticultural activities treatment positively affected spiritual values. According to high Paloutzian and Ellison (1991), the psychological well-being score range of 20 – 40 is low, 41 – 99 is moderate, and 100 – 120 is high. Further analysis showed that the interaction of sex and time factors significantly influenced changes in spiritual well-being. The increase in spiritual well-being score is relatively small because the subject’s score was already high in the initial condition before practicing horticultural activities. It might be caused by internal and external factors (such as a pleasant farm ambiance). The subjects are accustomed to a dense urban ambiance with buildings and traffic where the students live in dense settlements. This condition is very distinct from the ambiance of ABM farm, which has various fruit plants, vegetables plants, shade trees, ornamental plants, and turf grass. Internal and external factors might affect subjects’ spiritual well-being levels before practicing horticultural activities. These findings are consistent with previous research that adult females in China who participated in horticultural therapy significantly contributed to the holistic improvement of mental and spiritual well-being (Gao et al., 2024). In addition, this kind of therapy on older adults living in nursing homes in Indonesia also improved emotional, cognitive, social interaction, and life satisfaction (Kusumastuti et al., 2020).

A lower heart rate was detected while resting condition (sitting in the hall). Although the heart rate value is normal while conducting physical activity and resting, it is due to those activities being conducted at different points in the same environment (ABM farm). The average heart rate during horticultural activities treatment tends to be higher than sitting activities in the hall because the level of physical activity is higher than sedentary activity (Namazi, 2021). In addition, the average heart rate of males tended to be lower than that of females in horticultural activities treatment, so that sex and treatment factors might influence heart rate (Ryan et al., 1994).

Although there was a decrease in diastolic blood pressure after practicing horticultural activities as well as a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after sitting in the hall, there were no significant differences between the blood pressure before and after conducting both activities. Environmental stimuli such as high temperature and intensity of sunlight, noise, maintenance activities, or sudden events might affect the results of blood pressure measurements (Lyu et al., 2019). Surprisingly, further analysis showed that the interaction of sex, time, and treatments possibly influenced the change in systolic blood pressure, yet it did not influence the change in diastolic blood pressure. It occurs because systolic blood pressure is more likely to fluctuate than diastolic blood pressure. Jones et al. (2006) found that systolic and diastolic blood pressures follow similar patterns; however, systolic blood pressure is generally more reactive to physical activities than diastolic blood pressure. Female blood pressure tends to be lower than male blood pressure. The amount of the hormones estrogen and progesterone of each sex influences it. Hormones estrogen play a role in blood pressure and hypertension risk reduction in females compared to males (Charkoudian et al., 2017). Furthermore, early research found many different results related to the influence of green open space on the blood pressure of each sex. It has shown that green open space provides more benefits to females than males (Yang et al., 2019). Females who frequently move in green open spaces have better visual and aesthetic perception, strengthening the restorative effect of green open spaces (Sang et al., 2016; Shen et al., 2021). Other research also shows that green open spaces have a more significant influence on changes in blood pressure in males than females (Jiang et al., 2021), where males do more outdoor activities and have better perceptions regarding safety in green open spaces than females (Cohen et al., 2007; Richardson and Mitchell, 2010).

These findings demonstrate the physiological and psychological relaxation and spiritual well-being of horticultural activities. Horticultural activities are expected to be developed as a therapy involving horticultural therapists. Participatory planning and design of therapeutic landscapes should be applied based on evidence-based horticultural activity research. Integrating a horticultural therapy program into school landscape design and including this program in environmental education would become a potential reference for developing green therapeutic school landscape models in the near future. This research has several limitations. First, the intervention and control conditions were conducted in the exact general location (ABM farm), distinguishing only the type of activity, so it was difficult to isolate the effect of the green space. Second, most physiological and psychological parameters were measured immediately after the intervention, whereas only spiritual well-being was re-measured one week later. It limits the ability to evaluate the long-term impact of horticultural activities. Third, the sample size is relatively small and homogenous, consisting exclusively of students from a single educational institution. This restricts the generalizability of the results to other populations, particularly older adults or individuals with chronic conditions—groups that may derive even greater benefit from nature-based therapy. Future studies should consider placing the control group in a distinctly different setting (e.g., an indoor classroom or built environment) to eliminate the environmental influence. There should be a follow-up assessment after one week or one month to help determine the sustainability and long-term effects of the horticultural activities’ benefits. The sample size should be larger and include groups that may benefit more from horticultural activities, such as older adults or individuals with a metabolic or chronic disease (i.e., autoimmune). These limitations must be addressed in future research.

Conclusion

This study provides scientific evidence for the physiological, psychological, and spiritual effects of horticultural activities. Conducting horticultural activities for 15 min resulted in (1) significantly higher heart rate than resting condition, (2) decreased diastolic blood pressure, (3) significant decreased confusion and Total Mood Disturbance, increased friendliness, (4) decreased anxiety level, and (5) significant increased spiritual well-being after 1 week. This proves that horticultural activities at ABM farm have improved students’ physical and psychological health, as well as spiritual well-being. The study’s findings can be used as a reference in developing the planning and design of horticultural activities spaces ranging from passive, semi-active, and active activities for students, managers, and visitors in school landscape.

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