Research & Findings

Why is Nature Play Important?

Benefits of outdoor play include increased reasoning skills, improved self-control, and better health.²
The more kids are out experiencing nature, the more likely they are to positively impact the Earth as an advocate.¹⁵
The more time kids spend in nature, the less time they spend on addictive electronics.³
To build appreciation and understanding of our world, kids need time to explore outside.¹¹

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COVID & Social-Emotional Deficit & Screen Time

COVID-19 & global quarantine have been severely isolating, which can lead children into depression or anxiety.^{7 &}⁸ Additionally, kids are on their screens more for online learning.⁶ The good news: The additional emotional support and mental health services¹ students now need can be directly addressed through an increase in nature play and family time. Nature Play encourages us to reconnect with nature, each other, and ourselves, to foster a sense of inner peace.¹²

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Nature-Deficit Disorder

Nature-deficit disorder is the diminished ability to find meaning in the life that surrounds us.

- Richard Louv

Connection to the outdoors contributes to cognitive function and well-being, social interaction, and social connectedness within impoverished, urban communities.

- Nancy M. Wells

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Early Age Connection Pairs with Conservation

Children who play outdoors have been proven to be happier and healthier than their peers who spend more time indoors. They are more active, creative, and imaginative when they have the opportunity to play outside freely. Additional benefits of free play include empathy for others and nature, independence, reduced stress, and building problem-solving skills.²

Families that spend time together outdoors build stronger connections to each other and their environment.¹⁴ Enjoying a storm, gathering leaves, venturing on a walk, looking at stars, or even inspecting a crack in the pavement is time well spent.

90% of brain development occurs from birth to the age of eight.⁴ During this period children are forming their perceptions of the world and discovering themselves, including forming their conservation values.¹⁴

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Age Appropriate Topic Suggestions

Curious to learn which conservation topics are appropriate to discuss with your child? The following link takes you to an article that describes developmentally appropriate topics by age groups.¹⁰

References

Berry, B. (2020, August 25). Teaching, learning, and caring in the post-COVID era. Phi Delta Kappan, 102(1), 14-17. doi: 10.1177/0031721720956840.
Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of Nature Contact for Children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433–452. Doi: 10.1177/0885412215595441.
Johnson, J. (2021, January 27). U.S. children & teens daily screen time Covid-19 2020. Retrieved March 09, 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1189204/us-teens-children-screen-time-daily-coronavirus-before-during/#:~:text=U.S.%20kids%20%26%20teens%20with%204hrs%2B,during%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic%202020&text=As%20of%20June%202020%2C%2062,of%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic.
Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books.
Louv, R. (2011). The nature principle: Human restoration and the end of nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin Books.
Madigan, S., Browne, D., Racine, N., Mori, C., & Tough, S. (2019, March 1). Association between screen time and children's performance on a developmental screening test. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(3), 244-250. Doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5056.
Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Orgera, K., Cox, C., Garfield, R., Hamel, L., . . . Chidambaram, P. (2020, August 21). The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use. Retrieved October 03, 2020, from https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/.
Shukla, P. (2020, August 10). Impact of COVID-19 on Students' Mental Health and Well-being. Retrieved October 03, 2020, from https://www.psychreg.org/impact-of-covid-19-on-students-mental-health-and-well-being/.
Slivosky, Katie (n.d.) Avoiding ecophobia: Redefining conservation messages for kids [PDF]. Retrieved from http://web.eenorthcarolina.org/Files/ncee/2015/AvoidingEcophobia.pdf.

Soga, M., Yamanoi, T., Tsuchiya, K., Koyanagi, T. F., & Kanai, T. (2018). What are the drivers of and barriers to children’s direct experiences of nature? Landscape & Urban Planning, 180, 114–120. Doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.015.
Visalo, P.P. (2016). Phra Paisan's temple school: A Buddhist perspective on learning from nature. 2nd ed. Green World Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand.
Wells, N. M., & Evans, G. W. (2003). Nearby nature: A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and behavior, 35(3), 311-330.
Wells, N. M., & Lekies, K. S. (2006). Nature and the life course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. Children Youth and Environments, 16(1), 1-24.
Wight, R. A., Kloos, H., Maltbie, C. V., & Carr, V. W. (2016). Can playscapes promote early childhood inquiry towards environmentally responsible behaviors? An exploratory study. Environmental Education Research, 22(4), 518–537. Doi: 10.1080/13504622.2015.1015495.

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