What do you get when you introduce more than 60 houseplants into a professional football dressing room?
At Forest Green Rovers, the answer is a striking example of how biophilic design can transform even the most unexpected environments.
Known as the world’s greenest football club, Forest Green Rovers recently transformed their home dressing room into a lush, plant-filled space as part of an initiative for International Stress Awareness Week.
The project, delivered in partnership with Plants & Flowers Foundation Holland, aimed to highlight how introducing greenery into high-pressure environments could help reduce stress, support wellbeing and create a more calming atmosphere.
Football dressing rooms aren’t typically associated with peace and tranquillity. From pre-match nerves to half-time team talks, they’re environments where emotions and pressure can run high.
But Forest Green Rovers have taken a different approach.
The club’s dressing room was transformed with more than 60 houseplants, including large tropical foliage, trailing greenery, orchids and moss-covered displays.
Plants surround the players’ lockers, fill the spaces between benches and hang alongside football shirts, creating an immersive green environment.
The transformation certainly caught the attention of the players.
Midfielder Oliver Ewing commented:
“I’ve never seen anything like it – it’s brilliant.”
He also described the space as feeling more homely and acknowledged the calming effect the greenery appeared to have around the club.
The transformation at Forest Green Rovers was inspired by a national survey commissioned by Plants & Flowers Foundation Holland, exploring the situations that cause people stress and the role nature can play in helping them relax.
The research revealed some interesting findings about our relationship with nature and the environments we spend time in:
These findings highlight the importance people place on access to nature and the potential for greenery to improve our experience of indoor environments.
The Forest Green Rovers installation was designed to bring this research to life, demonstrating how plants can transform a traditionally high-pressure setting into a more welcoming space.
The project also involved sports psychologist Dr Josephine Perry, who highlighted the relationship between our surroundings and how we respond to stressful situations.
“Adding greenery to high-pressure spaces is one of the simplest, low-effort and accessible habits anyone can adopt to stay in control when the pressure mounts.”
The idea extends well beyond professional sport.
Consider the environments where people regularly experience pressure, whether preparing for an important presentation, attending a job interview, working towards a deadline or navigating a particularly demanding day.
The national survey identified job interviews (52%), difficult conversations (50%) and public speaking (42%) among the most commonly reported stressful situations.
Although plants alone cannot eliminate these pressures, thoughtfully designed surroundings can contribute to a more comfortable and welcoming environment.
As Forest Green Rovers chairman Dale Vince put it:
“Plants in offices are well known to boost wellbeing, so why not in a changing room.”
At Benholm Group, we’re passionate about exploring the creative possibilities of interior planting.
While offices, hotels, restaurants and retail destinations are increasingly embracing biophilic design, the Forest Green Rovers transformation demonstrates that the potential applications extend much further.
What makes this project particularly interesting is the scale and creativity of the installation.
Rather than introducing a handful of decorative plants, greenery has been incorporated throughout the dressing room to create a completely different atmosphere.
It’s a reminder that planting doesn’t always have to be a finishing touch. When considered as part of the wider design, it can play a significant role in shaping the character and experience of a space.
For architects, interior designers and businesses, projects like this offer inspiration to think differently about where and how plants can be introduced.
Forest Green Rovers have already established a reputation for their environmental initiatives, including vegan food, renewable electricity and football kits made from recycled materials.
Their latest project places a spotlight on another important aspect of design: creating environments that support the people using them.
We love seeing imaginative planting installations like this attracting widespread attention and encouraging conversations about the benefits of bringing nature indoors.
And as for whether the greenery will make a difference to performances on the pitch? We’ll certainly be keeping a keen eye on Forest Green Rovers’ results!
At Benholm Group, we work with architects, interior designers and businesses to create imaginative planting schemes that enhance commercial environments.
Through creative planting design, professional installation and ongoing maintenance, we help bring greenery into workplaces, hospitality venues, retail destinations and beyond.
Looking to introduce planting into your next project?
Get in touch with our team to explore the possibilities.
