Connecting college students with nature: An evaluation indicator system for the implementation of horticultural therapy programmes on university campuses

The introduction of horticultural therapy to university campuses has gradually become an effective way to promote college students’ interaction with nature, improve their health and increase the quality of their study environment. However, many current studies have focused on measuring and evaluating the physical and mental health benefits of horticultural therapy programmes for college students, while less attention has been paid to exploring how to implement such programmes in a planned and sustainable manner. The main purpose of this study is to construct an evaluation system for the implementation of horticultural therapy programmes on university campuses, so as to better guide the sustainable development of campus horticultural therapy. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Delphi method were combined in this study. Delphi method was used to carry out two rounds of consultation for 10 experts, to select and revise indicators at all levels and establish an evaluation system. Expert and college student opinions were combined to determine the weight of indicators at each level using AHP. The evaluation system constructed by Delphi method included 4 indicators in the criteria layer and 12 indicators in the indicator layer. The weight analysis of AHP showed that horticultural therapy plan (0.341) was most important in the criteria layer, followed by the natural healing environment (0.289), the horticultural therapy team (0.190) and post-maintenance management (0.180). In conclusion, the evaluation system constructed systematically sorts out the elements of conducting horticultural therapy programmes on Chinese university campuses, which has good application and promotion value.