Natural-terrain schoolyards reduce children’s stress, says CU-Boulder study. Playing in schoolyards that feature natural habitats and trees and not just asphalt and recreation equipment reduces children’s stress and inattention, according to a University of Colorado Boulder study.
Working on class assignments or gardening in such settings also provide stress-reducing benefits for youth, according to a paper published in the journal Health & Place. The study is one of the first of its kind to focus on the relationship between student access to green settings and stress. “Many schools already offer stress management programs, but they’re about teaching individuals how to deal with stress instead of creating stress-reducing environments,” said Louise Chawla, CU-Boulder professor of environmental design and lead author of the study.
Play England. Getting Queensland children outdoors. RELEASE: OAK SUPPORTS HEALTHY KIDS OUTDOORS ACT TO RECONNECT KIDS WITH NATURE: New Legislation Aims To Improve Kids’ Physical, Mental and Social Health. For Immediate Release May 21, 2014 Contact: Christina Batcheler; 703-438-6098; batchelerc@nwf.org New Legislation Aims To Improve Kids’ Physical, Mental and Social Health.
Outdoor Exercise is more Beneficial than Indoor for Children. Nature deficit? New Program Aims to Get Kids Outdoors for Unstructured Fun. Diving into the Research Around Getting Kids Outdoors. Richard Louv coined the term “nature-deficit disorder,” in his award winning book Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.
He recounts how children are spending progressively less time outdoors in free, unstructured play, and how wide-ranging the negative repercussions might be as children disconnect from the natural world. Researcher Sanda Hofferth has identified that outdoor play helps children learn key skills like problem-solving and creative thinking and helps them grow emotionally and academically. While this is a relatively new concept, the National Environmental Education Foundation published a fact sheet summarizing a number of research studies demonstrating the benefits of getting kids outdoors.
Www.neefusa.org/assets/files/NIFactSheet.pdf. Interior Department, National League of Cities and YMCA of the USA Join Forces to Connect Young People to the Outdoors. ST PAUL, MN — As part of Department of the Interior’s ambitious youth initiative, the National League of Cities (NLC), YMCA of the USA, and the Department today signed an agreement to coordinate efforts to bridge the growing disconnect between young people and the great outdoors by creating meaningful connections to nature through four pillars: play, learn, serve and work.
Secretary Jewell joined Saint Paul Mayor and President of the National League of Cities Chris Coleman, Salt Lake City Mayor and First Vice President of the National League of Cities Ralph Becker, and YMCA of the USA President and CEO Neil Nicoll in the Mississippi National River & Recreational Area in Saint Paul, Minn., to sign the agreement. Www.neefusa.org/assets/files/NIFactSheet.pdf. Diving into the Research Around Getting Kids Outdoors. Kids of New Jersey: Go Outside. Natural Learning Initiative. Online Articles A 'Dose of Nature' for Attention Problems. 2008.
The New York Times Are You Turning Your Child into a Wimp? 2008. TIME Magazine The Child Trap. 2008. Why Kids Need a Big Dose of Nature. 2008. A Classroom of Monkey Bars and Slides. 2007. The Powerful Link Between Conserving Land and Preserving Health. 2007. People: Nurture & Nature. 2007. Measuring Physical Activity Affordances in Preschool Outdoor Environments. NIEHS Obesity and the Built Environment R-21 RFA-ES-04-003 Childcare and child developoment centers have become the places where the majority of young children spend most of their waking hours almost every day of the year.
If enrolled as infants less than a year old, the total amount hours spent in centers closely matches those spent in a child's remaining school career through grade 12. Considering how critical early childhood is to children's health and future success in life, it can be argued that the environmental quality of early childhood settings where children spend the majority of their time is equally important. The quality of the center outdoor environment is particularly relevant because this is where children can learn to be physically active, can be motivated to play in nature, and feel comfortable outdoors – lifestyle habits that may persist in later life. Childcare centers are highly regulated, policy-sensitive systems.
Drawing on Empathy. I teach a natural history class for non-traditional college students.
Several years ago, I began assigning a weekly field journal to my students to help improve their observational skills by doing independent field observations and describing one plant and one animal in their journals. It also gives us an excuse to get out of the dim, dank classroom—and into the natural world we are talking about. I bring the class on walks that seem casual, but are softly encouraging of observation. We walk and talk, sit on the ground and describe what we see, smell, feel, and hear. One student, a woman in her forties, sat by a tree in a city park and watched ants gathering and carrying food to their nest. Connecting Your Children with Nature Can Have Many Benefits. More Than a Veggie Patch: School Gardens Help Teachers, Students With STEM. The idea of having a community garden is nothing new.
It's a popular way to promote sustainability, healthy eating and camaraderie. But one organization has found it's also a powerful way to improve teacher effectiveness and boost student interest and engagement in science. REAL School Gardens, a nonprofit organization with offices in Washington, D.C., and Texas, partners with companies and nonprofits to bring learning gardens into low-income elementary schools. Schools are selected through a grant application process, says Jeanne McCarty, the organization's executive director, and students use math and art to develop a design for the garden. A few weeks later, they come together with REAL School Gardens staff members, corporate volunteers, parents and teachers to bring the ideas to life. Www.playengland.org.uk/media/130593/play-naturally.pdf. Film – Project Wild Thing. Film – Project Wild Thing. Risk and Reward in Nature Play. By Ken Finch, Green Hearts “Risk averse” barely seems to do justice to the expansive fears of our modern American society.
“Risk paranoid” might be more accurate. So it’s not surprising that when considering nature play, risk is an often- passionate topic and a frequent roadblock. Naturally, all parents want their children to be safe; all teachers want their students to be safe; and all organizations want their clients and visitors to be safe. Yet it seems as though our strict standards for workplace safety – that is, no risks, no injuries – are now being applied to children’s outdoor play. But first, let’s be clear: nature play is dangerous. Life itself is dangerous. Ahhh, the challenge of perspective…. Comparative Risk. Nature Play WA.
There are a number of nature playgrounds that have been developed in Western Australia that can provide you with inspiration for your project.
Click on the images below to view some case studies. If you have created a wonderful nature play space and would like to share your achievement and learnings, please submit your case study by clicking on this form. If your organisation has developed a nature playground that you would like to share as a case study, please contact us. Nature Play WA. Books. Lack of Outdoor Play Said To Hurt Children’s Development. Beyond Biology: Using Gardens to Grow Early Physics and Engineering Thinking, Skills, and Understanding. Beyond biology: Using gardens to grow early physics and engineering thinking skills and understanding.
Kids need to play in the mud now and then. “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” Rachel Carson When baby boomers think back to their childhoods, they can probably recall a treehouse, a Boy/Girl Scout camping trip, family picnics, or a passion for fishing, hunting or horse riding. Now we need to bring back that halcyon childhood pastime of letting our kids (and grandkids) get muddy once in awhile. Studies indicate that they will grow up healthier and happier because of a connection to nature. We are in the midst of a science education revolution. Never in the history of humankind has an understanding of science been more complex yet more important. In his well-known “Last Child in the Woods,” author Richard Louv analyzes the societal problems that have arisen in the current generation of American youths, which has generally lost contact with natural science.
Place-based education helps us understand the whirlpool of life. Scott Sampson argues for the need for rewillding of cities, even if it’s just a portion of a backyard. Photo/Allen Best You’ve heard of the web of life, right? Scott Sampson would also have you consider the whirlpool of life. That, he says, is a more apt description for the process of living things. It’s not stationary, but fluid. A dinosaur paleontologist by training, Sampson is chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
As Schools Cut Recess, Kids' Learning Will Suffer, Experts Say. When Deborah Gilboa's second-oldest son Nadav started coming home from first grade with discipline warnings from his teacher, Gilboa and her husband were perplexed. Nadav, who had just turned 6, had the same teacher in kindergarten and had rarely gotten into trouble. So Gilboa, a family medicine doctor in Pittsburgh who consults at askdoctorg.com, and her husband sat down to ask their son what was going on. He had the answer right away. Baldivis Children's Forest. Nature Play WA. Nature Play WA Skip to content Nature Play Home | About Us | Links | Contact us Useful sites.
EVERY CHILD NEEDS NATURE: 12 Questions About Equity & Capacity. Www.communityplaythings.com/~/media/files/cpus/library/training-resources/booklets/wisdom-of-play.pdf. Staff Workshop Teacher Handout: The "Whys" Have It! Why to Include Loose Parts on the Playground. Loose parts are easily moved materials that may be used by children while playing.
Www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNEvidenceoftheDeficit_01.pdf. Forest play aids nursery children's mediation skills. 26 February 2012Last updated at 09:20 The project leaders have been inspired by outdoor education programmes in Sweden. 'Nature Is a Powerful Teacher': The Educational Value of Going Outside. Four years ago, the nurse at Boston's Young Achievers School was overwhelmed. Previously a middle school, Young Achievers had recently become a K-8 school and there was no appropriate space for recess. David Suzuki: Getting dirty is good for your immune system. 'Nature Is a Powerful Teacher': The Educational Value of Going Outside. THE “VITAMIN N” PRESCRIPTION – Some Health Professionals Now Recommending Nature Time for Children and Adults. By Richard Louv on July 26th, 2011. American Public Health Association Adopts 17 New Policy Statements, Includes “Nature, Health and Wellness” - Children.
TIME FOR YOUR VITAMIN ‘N’: Ten great ways pediatricians and other health professionals can promote health and wellness. By Richard Louv on August 5th, 2013. NATURE’S NEURONS: Do Early Experiences in the Natural World Help Shape Children’s Brain Architecture? By Richard Louv on July 26th, 2012 What role do early childhood experiences in nearby nature play in the formation of brain architecture? Children. Children. THE WHOLE CHILD: A Pediatrician Recommends the Nature Prescription.
Alliance for Childhood. THE HYBRID MIND: The More High-Tech Schools Become, the More Nature They Need. By Richard Louv on November 18th, 2013 On Nov. 16, at the annual Learning & the Brain conference in Boston, Mass., I offered some of the following remarks in a keynote address. Children & Nature Network (C&NN) Current Research Studies. Physical Play Abstract. :: US Play Coalition. DesignShare: Early Childhood Learning Environments.
New AAP Report Addresses Play for Healthy Development. Children. Www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CECCNNWorldwideResearch.pdf. Usplaycoalition.clemson.edu/resources/articles/Play_Summit_Abstracts.pdf. Www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNEvidenceoftheDeficit_01.pdf.