Empowered by Nature

How do a childhood spent outdoors and a connection with nature influence personal and societal ideas of agency and expression?

I didn’t realize it until one of the days right before we left, but apparently my feminized, city upbringing has been extremely sheltered, and I have zero experience. As we’ve already read about how nature heals and fortifies the mind and soul by empowering and inspiring small children to believe in themselves and their capabilities, I wonder if my own childhood would have been different if I grew up in a place not so choked by concrete, and/or if I were treated like a boy.

The remainder of this post contains summaries of various sources’ arguments as to why it is so important for children (and adults) to have a space where they feel truly accepted and inspired. The three sources below discuss different aspects of wellness- mental health, gender, and agency- as they relate to empowerment through nature.

Source 1: Effects of an outdoor education intervention on the mental health of schoolchildren

This article explains that, because children spend so much time at school, their mental health is largely reliant on their schooling experiences. There are countless connections collectively referred to as microsystems that constitute childrens’ life experiences. These microsystems can refer to relationships between other students, teachers, and their environments.

The article goes to explain that due to social stratification, these microsystems can vary significantly depending on circumstances, such as available resources, and area. Many schools have some for of mental health program, but their effectiveness may vary. The benefits associated with being in nature, however, are one of the most consistently positive means of improving mental health.

Furthermore, outdoor education is known to be a very hands-on experience. Giving children the opportunity to take their education into their own hands and engage in a tactile and kinesthetic complement to regular education seems to improve self esteem. This is likely due to the fact that physical activity and comprehension increase, allowing the child to feel more confident and capable.

Source 2: The ‘outdoor industry’ as social and educational phenomena: Gender and outdoor adventure/education

“On the whole, Western society is organised around the assumption that the differences between the sexes are more important than any qualities they have in common” (Humberstone, 2000).

In the introduction, this article explains that, although gender is a social construct, a broad conglomerate referred to as “the outdoor industry” maintains distinctions between the male and female spheres. The introduction also reminds readers that in the 18th century, “Through the construction of sets of binaries, masculinity became associated with science, rationality, objectivity and Culture. Whilst femininity became equated with emotionality, subjectivity, irrationality and Nature”. This statement further expands upon the fact that gender is a construct, and not a law because, depending on the time period, gender associations shift. For example, though once seen as a branch of raw emotion and nature, femininity later becomes synonymous with domesticity, servitude, and restraint.

It also continues to explore capitalism and suggests that “all women [are] at the mercy of structural capitalist patriarchal power”. This source starts by acknowledging a divide between gender in nature schools and adventure education, as demonstrated by the masculine origin of fruluftsliv, and by the lack of representation among nature education policy makers- largely white men- despite many types of people being passionate about this field of study.

That seems to be the most important part- the fact that interest levels in the subject are consistently high regardless of gender, in spite of power dynamics, and in opposition to the societal points of view surrounding who owns the outdoors. This persistence from women children and the underrepresented implies that some element of being in the natural world instinctually resonates with people. I think that humanity ́s inclination to gravitate towards the natural is very interesting, and feel like it suggests that successfully interacting with nature makes people feel like they have control.

Source 3: Playgrounds that rip up the safety rules (and associated articles)

I discussed this article in my preparation guide for Thursday the 23rd, and many of the other articles from this source feel relevant for this discussion as well. In my introduction, I talked briefly about being raised in a city and not being allowed to play outside alone.

Children are more empowered when they have to create their own adventures, but, as is the case in highly urbanized Denmark, not everyone has a local forest they can use as their playground. Architect Helle Nebelong has created several immersive, green playgrounds that bring natural adventure into big city Copenhagen.

A blog post from a site run by Tim Gill- a writer “interested in the changing nature of childhood” compiles the benefits of such a space. Gill often writes about urban planning and child-friendly cities. This particular article contains an analysis of Nebelong’s playground, and reasoning that supports her views on the dangers of “KFC/fast food” playspaces (it’s not what it sounds like).

Coined by academic Helle Wooley, KFC stands for Kit, Fence, Carpet. This term refers to most conventional playgrounds. Nebelong argues that these conventional playgrounds are ultimately more dangerous than her dynamic nature playgrounds because their sterile monotony inspires complacence within children and parents alike:

"When the distance between all the rungs in a climbing net or a ladder is exactly the same, the child has no need to concentrate on where he puts his feet. Standardisation is dangerous because play becomes simplified and the child does not have to worry about his movements."

In addition to a few arguments defending why dynamic playgrounds are better for kids, the post contains photos of similarly unconventional and unsafe looking playgrounds worldwide,

Returning to the idea of complacency, an associated article from the same site challenges helicopter parenting and risk compensation by introducing the reader to the idea of forest school and empowerment. This blog contains tons of similar articles with the same message: kids become more capable when left to figure it out on their own.

Citations:

~Gustafsson, P. E., Szczepanski, A., Nelson, N., & Gustafsson, P. A. (2012). Effects of an outdoor education intervention on the mental health of schoolchildren. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 12(1), 63–79. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2010.532994

~Humberstone, B. (2000). The ‘outdoor industry’ as social and educational phenomena: Gender and outdoor adventure/education. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 1(1), 21–35. doi: 10.1080/14729670085200041

~Looze, M. E. D., Huijts, T., Stevens, G. W. J. M., Torsheim, T., & Vollebergh, W. A. M. (2017). The Happiest Kids on Earth. Gender Equality and Adolescent Life Satisfaction in Europe and North America. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(5), 1073–1085. doi: 10.1007/s10964-017-0756-7

~Playgrounds that rip up the safety rules. (2018, April 19). Retrieved from https://rethinkingchildhood.com/2012/03/07/playground-safety/

~Risk, fear and freedom: a plea to parents. (2019, March 11). Retrieved from https://rethinkingchildhood.com/2019/03/11/risk-fear-freedom-plea-to-parents/