Childhood connection to nature has many benefits but is not universally positive

A connection to nature is complex, as well as positive emotions, it can generate negative emotions linked to issues like climate change

August 6, 2020

Science Daily/British Ecological Society

The review, published in the British Ecological Society Journal People and Nature, is the first to focus on nature connection in children and adolescents. In the article Dr Chawla comprehensively reviews the full scope of literature on the topic, covering peer-reviewed articles, books and studies by environmental organizations.

The review finds that connecting with nature supports multiple areas of young people's wellbeing. "There is strong evidence that children are happier, healthier, function better, know more about the environment, and are more likely to take action to protect the natural world when they spend time in nature." said Dr Chawla.

Several studies found that children's connection with nature increased with time spent in natural environments. Time spent in this way was also a predictor for active care for nature in adulthood. These findings support strategies and policies that ensure that young people have access to wild areas, parks, gardens, green neighborhoods, and naturalized grounds at schools.

However, a connection with nature is not universally positive. "My review shows that connecting with nature is a complex experience that can generate troubling emotions as well as happiness." said Dr Chawla.

"We need to keep in mind that children are inheriting an unravelling biosphere, and many of them know it. Research shows that when adolescents react with despair, they are unlikely to take action to address challenges."

Thankfully the review finds that there is overlap in the strategies used to increase children's feelings of connection with nature and supporting them with difficult dimensions of this connection.

These strategies include helping young people learn what they can do to protect the natural world, as individuals and working collectively with others, and sharing examples of people who care for nature. Research covered in the review finds that young people are more likely to believe a better world is possible when friends, family and teachers listen sympathetically to their fears and give them a safe space to share their emotions.

One of the most surprising findings from the review was the complete disconnect between researchers studying the benefits of childhood connection to nature and those studying responses to environmental threats. "People who study children's connection with nature and those who study their coping with environmental risk and loss have been pursuing separate directions without referencing or engaging with each other." said Dr Chawla. "I am arguing that researchers on both sides need to be paying attention to each other's work and learning from each other."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200806092435.htm

To bond with nature, kids need solitary activities outdoors

August 5, 2020

Science Daily/North Carolina State University

A new study found solitary activities like fishing, hunting or exploring outside are key to building strong bonds between children and nature. Activities like these encourage children to both enjoy being outside and to feel comfortable there.

In addition to these independent activities, researchers led by an investigator from North Carolina State University reported that they found social activities can help cement the bond between children and nature.

The findings could help children gain the mental and physical benefits linked with being outdoors at a time when researchers say younger generations of Americans may be less connected to nature than before.

"In order to create a strong bond with nature, you need to provide kids with an opportunity to be alone in nature, or to experience nature in a way that they can personally connect with it, but you need to reinforce that with social experiences either with peers or adults," said Kathryn Stevenson, corresponding author of the study and an assistant professor in North Carolina State University's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.

For the study, researchers surveyed 1,285 children aged 9 through 12 in North Carolina. The survey focused on identifying the types of activities that help children build a strong connection to nature, which they defined as when children enjoy being outdoors and feel comfortable there.

The researchers asked children about their experiences with outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and playing sports, and their feelings about nature overall. The researchers then used children's survey responses to assess which activities were most likely to predict whether they had a strong connection to nature.

While they found that children who participated in solitary activities such as hunting or fishing built strong connections to nature, they also saw that social activities outdoors, such as playing sports or camping, helped to cement the strongest bonds that they saw in children.

"We saw that there were different combinations of specific activities that could build a strong connection to nature; but a key starting point was being outside, in a more solitary activity," Stevenson said.

The finding that solitary activities were important predictors of strong connections to the natural world wasn't surprising given findings from previous research, said Rachel Szczytko, the study's first author. She was previously an environmental education research assistant at NC State, and now works at the San Francisco-based Pisces Foundation.

"We have seen that when people who go into environmentally focused careers reflect on their lives, they describe having formational experiences outdoors during childhood, like walking on a favorite trail or exploring the creek by their home," she said. "We know that these kind of meaningful life experiences are motivating going forward. So we expected that when children are doing something more solitary, contemplative, when they're noticing what's around them, and have a heightened sense of awareness, they are more likely having these formative experiences and are developing more comfort and affinity for the outdoors."

The findings highlight a need to provide more solitary opportunities for kids when they are outside.

"When you think about recreation opportunities for kids, social activities are often covered; people are signing their kids up for sports, camp and scouts," Stevenson said. "Maybe we need more programming to allow children to be more contemplative in nature, or opportunities to establish a personal connection. That could be silent sits, or it could be activities where children are looking or observing on their own. It could mean sending kids to the outdoors to make observations on their own. It doesn't mean kids should be unsupervised, but adults could consider stepping back and letting kids explore on their own."

Researchers said children who are connected to nature are also likely to spend more time outside, which can lead to benefits for children's mental and physical health, attention span and relationships with adults. In addition, researchers said building connections with nature is also important for getting children involved in environmental conservation.

"There are all kinds of benefits from building connections to nature and spending time outside," Stevenson said. "One of the benefits we're highlighting is that children who have a strong connection to nature are more likely to want to take care of the environment in the future."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200805110113.htm

Students more engaged and attentive following outdoor lesson in nature

Following an outdoor lesson in nature, students were more engaged with their schoolwork, and their teachers could teach uninterrupted for almost twice as long.

January 11, 2018

Science Daily/Frontiers

A study has found that children are significantly more attentive and engaged with their schoolwork following an outdoor lesson in nature. Teachers could teach uninterrupted for almost twice as long during a subsequent indoor lesson. Outdoor lessons may be an inexpensive and convenient way to improve student engagement.

Scientists have known for a while that natural outdoor environments can have a variety of beneficial effects on people. People exposed to parks, trees or wildlife can experience benefits such as physical activity, stress reduction, rejuvenated attention and increased motivation. In children, studies have shown that even a view of greenery through a classroom window could have positive effects on students' attention.

However, many teachers may be reluctant to hold a lesson outdoors, as they might worry that it could overexcite the children, making it difficult for them to concentrate on their schoolwork back in the classroom. Ming Kuo, a scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her colleagues set out to investigate this, and hypothesized that an outdoor lesson in nature would result in increased classroom engagement in indoor lessons held immediately afterwards.

"We wanted to see if we could put the nature effect to work in a school setting," says Kuo. "If you took a bunch of squirmy third-graders outdoors for lessons, would they show a benefit of having a lesson in nature, or would they just be bouncing off the walls afterward?"

The researchers tested their hypothesis in third graders (9-10 years old) in a school in the Midwestern United States. Over a 10-week period, an experienced teacher held one lesson a week outdoors and a similar lesson in her regular classroom, and another, more skeptical teacher did the same. Their outdoor "classroom" was a grassy spot just outside the school, in view of a wooded area.

After each outdoor or indoor lesson, the researchers measured how engaged the students were. They counted the number of times the teacher needed to redirect the attention of distracted students back to their schoolwork during the observation, using phrases such as "sit down" and "you need to be working." The research team also asked an outside observer to look at photos taken of the class during the observation period and score the level of class engagement, without knowing whether the photos were taken after an indoor or outdoor lesson. The teachers also scored class engagement.

The team's results show that children were more engaged after the outdoor lessons in nature. Far from being overexcited and inattentive immediately after an outdoor lesson, students were significantly more attentive and engaged with their schoolwork. The number of times the teacher had to redirect a student's attention to their work was roughly halved immediately after an outdoor lesson.

"Our teachers were able to teach uninterrupted for almost twice as long at a time after the outdoor lesson," says Kuo, "and we saw the nature effect with our skeptical teacher as well."

The researchers plan to do further work to see if the technique can work in other schools and for less experienced teachers. If so, regular outdoor lessons could be an inexpensive and convenient way for schools to enhance student engagement and performance. "We're excited to discover a way to teach students and refresh their minds for the next lesson at the same time," says Kuo. "Teachers can have their cake and eat it too."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180111115340.htm