How Landscape Lighting Improves Mental Health of Willing Warriors

How Landscape Lighting Improves Mental Health of Willing Warriors

By Randy Reid

A 2013 study found a suicide rate among veterans of about 30 per 100,000 people per year, compared with the civilian rate of 14 per 100,000.

Patrick Harders, the mastermind behind Enlightened Lighting, shared some of the intricacies of landscape lighting design for his LIT Awardwinning project, Willing Warriors Retreat.

Located in Haymarket, VA, Willing Warriors was formed by volunteers to assist the mental health of patients at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In March 2013 a large, aging house, situated on 37 acres of land, was acquired to serve as the lodging home of this dedicated retreat facility. The intention was to provide a sense-of-home experience for our recovering warriors and their family in the form of a relaxing getaway from the medical center environment.

Following a two-year labor of love involving the help of more than 1,000 individuals and the in-kind donations of 120 contractors and building suppliers, work on the retreat was completed. The setting for the haven is exquisite, with its rolling hills and nearby forest located approximately 300 feet from the house.

Volunteers manage the facility, and every four days a wounded warrior and their family are treated to great food in a natural and beautiful environment. Bringing these families together in such a warm environment allows the soldier and the family to heal together.

There was one problem.

At night, this stark setting created anxiety and even fear. With the lack of outdoor lighting, the residents of this old house could not entirely be sure that there were no intruders or other dangers lurking near the home. When they looked out the window, they saw nothing. “If they wake up at 2 a.m. and are surrounded by darkness, they feel uncomfortable,” Patrick explained. “Hypervigilance can be an issue, and when they look out the window, they only see glare as the interior lighting reflects against the glass window. We wanted to break that pane of glass and bring the outside in and make people feel very comfortable.”

Photo Credit: Dave Battle

A few years ago, one would simply install a few MH1000 luminaires in the yard and flood the house with glaring bluish white light. Patrick, who understands the strong emotional connection with the lighting, went to work on the design. He wanted to ensure that anybody or anything walking across the lawn could easily be seen at night, while not letting his design disturb the beauty, grace, and peace of the venue.

By combining different intensities of outdoor light, a unique picture of architecture and landscape was created. One of Patrick’s core techniques is the concept of installing downlights in the trees, something he learned from Janet Lennox Moyer. Downlights are vital in the design because they reflect light and let lumens fall to the ground, allowing for a three-dimensional look. Adding downlights from the top also allows for the in-ground well luminaires to require less lumens. The Willing Warriors job, as well as most of his jobs, use tree climbers with ropes to install the downlights in the tree branches. Bucket trucks are rarely, if ever, used.

SL23 Downlight

Patrick likes to set the surface-mounted well lights away from the tree. He explained, “Many times, lights are installed too close to the tree, creating hot spots on the trunk. Setting them off about 6-8 feet allows us to use less lumens, creating a softer look.” Each flush-mounted well fixture provides 900 lumens, a 40-degree beam spread, 97 CRI at 3000K and a very high RG/RF of 98/103.

Another essential element to the well light is a grass ring embedded in the well lights which is about 4 inches in diameter, with a 12-inch ring that allows the grass to grow on it. The downlights are usually set around 350 lumens and are typically operated at 15 volts.

SL 06 Surface Mounted Well Light

The luminaires have fifty-foot leads, and all the connections are made in a central area away from the trees, making installation and maintenance problem-free.

From the house windows, the woods appear to glow. The downlighting ties the trees into the ground and gives their entire composition a softer and gentler feel versus trees that look like a floating canopy surrounded by darkness. And in the winter, it is also beautiful as the leaves go away, and every inch of every branch is lit.

Photo Credit: Dave Battle

Patrick created a separate company called Sterling Lighting that builds the luminaires in Danville, VA. His design is centered around a CREE CXB 1507 chip with a very tight binning. Made in Ohio, the electronics/drivers are adjustable and operate between 9v and 18v. Each driver is potted in epoxy and has two plugs, making the driver easily serviceable. It is refreshing to know that the electronics for the luminaries for our wounded warriors are designed and built in the U.S.

Shockingly, there is no dimming, and the lighting is controlled by a simple dusk to dawn photocell. Patrick explained that, for this purpose, there is no reason to dim the lighting. The goal was simple: when it is dark, they want the lights on. During daylight, they want the lights off. There are wireless controls, and the lights are distributed over 5 zones that can be controlled individually. If you want to light a single tree or pathway, you can easily do it.

Photo Credit: Dave Battle

Patrick does not conduct mockups. He explained, “I grew up in the old days of 1998, and we did nighttime designs where we set everything up and then took it down. With experience, we now know exactly what will happen, so there is no need to do the mockup.” Nor does he use software because he hasn’t found anything he is happy with. Sometimes, they do renderings, which can be as simple as taking a photo and showing where the hardware will be mounted. Each fixture is adjustable between 0-1000 lumens, so the light is fine-tuned during installation.

The impact of LED lighting on landscape design trends can’t be overemphasized - it gives an impetus to new ideas in design. As every lighting designer knows, budget is always a consideration that hinders creativity in architectural design as well as landscape design. Great designs are often scaled back simply because of cost.

Willing Warriors was a rare job as there were no such constraints. The budget was unlimited.

Why was the budget unlimited? Simply, there was no budget. The design, luminaires, and labor were all donated by Patrick and his team, allowing for Patrick to create the very best design that LED technology allows.

The author, Randy Reid, is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.