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The restorative outcomes of forest school and conventional school in young people with good and poor behaviour
Abstract
Research has shown that the context for psychological restoration and the amount of change can vary amongst adults with different mental health states. There is, however, little evidence of this process in young people. This paper reports on a study which compares the restorative outcomes for adolescents (aged 11) when spending time in an outdoor education setting (forest school) versus a conventional indoor school setting. The adolescents differed across a behavioural spectrum from ‘good’ to ‘poor’ behaviour (n = 18). Two aspects of restoration are examined, firstly mood (measuring energy, stress, anger and hedonic tone), the other, reflection on personal goals using personal project techniques (Little, 1983) to capture this. Results from repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) on each of the emotional variables showed a number of significant effects with – in each case – greater positive change in the forest setting. There were additional significant behavioural effects with those with poor behaviour benefiting most from the forest school experience. This study extends restorative environments research by showing the amount of change and context for restoration can vary amongst young people with different behaviour states.
... A wide range of GT exposures were considered for schoolchildren. Education outside the classroom and forest schools (n = 4 studies) were reported as largely beneficial, being associated with reduced anger [104], healthier cortisol profiles (indicative of reduced stress) [28], increased energy [104], happiness [104], and prosocial behaviour [78], along with improved overall mental health for boys [89]. In one study, schoolchildren who perceived their schoolyard as more restorative experienced greater positive affect following recess time [75]. ...
... A wide range of GT exposures were considered for schoolchildren. Education outside the classroom and forest schools (n = 4 studies) were reported as largely beneficial, being associated with reduced anger [104], healthier cortisol profiles (indicative of reduced stress) [28], increased energy [104], happiness [104], and prosocial behaviour [78], along with improved overall mental health for boys [89]. In one study, schoolchildren who perceived their schoolyard as more restorative experienced greater positive affect following recess time [75]. ...
... A wide range of GT exposures were considered for schoolchildren. Education outside the classroom and forest schools (n = 4 studies) were reported as largely beneficial, being associated with reduced anger [104], healthier cortisol profiles (indicative of reduced stress) [28], increased energy [104], happiness [104], and prosocial behaviour [78], along with improved overall mental health for boys [89]. In one study, schoolchildren who perceived their schoolyard as more restorative experienced greater positive affect following recess time [75]. ...
Technological developments in recent decades have increased young people's engagement with screen-based technologies (screen time), and a reduction in young people's contact with nature (green time) has been observed concurrently. This combination of high screen time and low green time may affect mental health and well-being. The aim of this systematic scoping review was to collate evidence assessing associations between screen time, green time, and psychological outcomes (including mental health, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement) for young children (
... Forest School can contribute to overall social, cognitive, emotional and physical development in children through nature and activities that promote attention and stress relief (Roe and Aspinall 2011b). Studies of young children have shown improvements in characteristics such as self-esteem, confidence and communication skills (O'Brien and Murray 2007;Coates and Pimlott-Wilson 2019), lending to additional positive outcomes such as improved social interaction, motivation and concentration (Slade, Lowery, and Bland 2013). ...
... These factors are tied to mental health and wellbeing in girls, and as such, improvements in these areas can help to overcome challenges associated with female growth and development (Abrams 2002;Bor et al. 2014) and combat internalizing symptoms, which are increasing in young women (Bor et al. 2014). For example, a Forest School study by Roe and Aspinall (2011b) found positive changes in mood in adolescent participants (both boys and girls). Forest School also provides a more democratic and inclusive education platform, which is better suited for students with social and emotional needs (Kraftl 2018). ...
... Qualitative studies have predominantly gathered data from parents, Forest School leaders and other stakeholders (O'Brien and Murray 2007;Slade, Lowery, and Bland 2013;Harris 2018), or from young children (Ridgers, Knowles, and Sayers 2012;Coates and Pimlott-Wilson 2019;Pimlott-Wilson and Coates 2019). A study by Roe and Aspinall (2011b) looked at adolescents, however questionnaire data was used and the focus was on behavioral outcomes rather than wellbeing, which may have provided a broader case for the benefits of the program. Whilst these studies have demonstrated promising impacts on mood, behavior and social skills, they do not always gather the participant perspective, and if they have it has only been in younger, mixed gender groups. ...
Forest School is an outdoor learning program aimed at improving wellbeing and resilience. Few studies discuss Forest School experiences from the viewpoint of adolescent girls, particularly those with mental health risk factors. The study's aim was to explore the experiences of adolescent girls involved in a Forest School program in Scotland. An interpretive approach, using qualitative interviews captured the experiences of eight girls, who were considered at risk for mental health problems, participating in a Forest School program in rural Scotland. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, which facilitated understanding the complexity of meaning participants attached to their experiences. Four main themes were identified from interviews; mental wellbeing and resilience, community and social interaction, learning, and perception of Forest School. Most participants felt the program positively affected their mood, confidence, social skills and relationships, which went beyond the Forest School setting. ARTICLE HISTORY
... A growing number of empirical research studies outline the benefits of the FS approach in educational settings through the documentation of the progression of the social, emotional and physical well-being of participating children (Swarbrick et al. 2004;Maynard 2007;Knight 2011Knight , 2013O'Brien 2009;Roe and Aspinall 2011;Ridgers et al. 2012;Slade et al. 2013;Cumming and Nash 2015;Elliott 2015;Turtle et al. 2015;Waite. Bolling and Bentsen 2015;Harris 2017;Mackinder 2017;Murphy 2018). ...
... Time spent in FS can be beneficial for children with emotional behavioural difficulties (EBD) as it is argued that when children take risks in the landscape and successfully complete tasks, they begin to think differently about themselves, thus raising self-esteem and self-identity, which in turn may lead to greater self-confidence and a sense of purpose (Roe and Aspinall 2011;Waite et al. 2015). During FS, children lead their own learning and engage in real-life authentic tasks (Harding 2008;Ephgrave 2018). ...
... During FS, children lead their own learning and engage in real-life authentic tasks (Harding 2008;Ephgrave 2018). Roe and Aspinall (2011) argue that when children take risks in the landscape, they begin to think differently about themselves, thus raising self-esteem and selfidentity, which in turn leads to a greater self-confidence and a sense of purpose. In addition, FS can provide a sense of belonging through place attachment thus promoting positive learning identities which may address cycles of disadvantage (Cumming and Nash 2015). ...
A growing number of empirical research studies outline the benefits of the forest school approach in educational settings through the documentation of the progression of the social, emotional and physical well-being of participating children. However, recent publications claim that earlier studies lack robust research approaches. It is argued that forest school is currently under-theorised in outdoor education and there is a need to deepen the research-based understanding of this approach. This paper explores the Bio-Ecological (Bronfenbrenner 1979; Bronfenbrenner and Morris 1998, 2006) model as a framework that may be applied to research regarding the forest school approach to ensure that it is rigorous and robust in its approach to the collection and analysis of the empirical data. This paper outlines how future research may record the child’s voice through the consideration of their cultural context for future forest school practice.
... Previous studies have indicated that many types of sites have restorative potential, such as forests, gardens, parks, green roofs, libraries, playgrounds, museums, canteens, zoos, and classrooms [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. However, very little is known about other site types on campus that have the potential to be beneficial to students' mental health, except for the commonly considered green and blue spaces. ...
... In blue space, "water views" (36), "quiet atmosphere" (32), and "beautiful and romantic feeling" (22) were the main motivations. The main motivations for using gray space are "exercise" (29), "recreation" (26), and "empty and free experience" (22). The main reasons for the use of living space were "lively and pleasant atmosphere" (22), "to meet the needs of daily life" (21), and "for rest and relaxation" (18). ...
Undergraduates commonly suffer from stress and anxiety; therefore, it is imperative to find restorative places on campus. Although blue and green spaces are good for recovery and stress relief, previous studies have failed to determine other types of restorative spaces on campuses. Using a bottom-up participatory smartphone photo survey, this study recruited a sample of 243 students from Sichuan Technology and Business University in China, and the results were as follows: (1) potential restorative spaces on campus were grouped into five categories: green, blue, gray, living, and study space; (2) no significant differences were found in the assessment of the five restorative spaces, all of which showed positive effects; (3) the five restorative spaces were linked with four restorative characteristics in different ways, with green, blue, gray, and living space showing the “being away” characteristic (refuges from the hassles of everyday life, indicate geographical or psychological distance), and gray and study spaces showing the “fascination” characteristic (effortless attention); (4) visit duration played an important role in the environment’s potential to promote recovery. A shorter visit duration owing to a lack of infrastructure and interest points may contribute to reduced benefits. This study has important implications for the design and management of restorative environments on college campuses.
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Nisbet et al., 2009;Bratman et al., 2012;Kamitsis and Francis, 2013). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Mayer et al., 2009;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Thompson et al., 2012;Park et al., 2013;Beyer et al., 2014;Chawla et al., 2014), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton and Pretty, 2010;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Park et al., 2013;Chawla et al., 2014). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Nisbet et al., 2009;Bratman et al., 2012;Kamitsis and Francis, 2013). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Mayer et al., 2009;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Thompson et al., 2012;Park et al., 2013;Beyer et al., 2014;Chawla et al., 2014), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton and Pretty, 2010;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Park et al., 2013;Chawla et al., 2014). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
Background
The time that children and young people spend in nature and outdoor spaces has decreased significantly over the past 30 years. This was exacerbated with a further 60% decline post-COVID-19. Research demonstrating that natural environments have a positive impact on health and wellbeing has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions and green prescribing, although evidence for its use is predominantly limited to adults. Growing evidence also shows the impact of arts on all aspects of health and wellbeing. However, what has received scant attention in literature is the interconnection between the two: arts and nature.
Aims
This review synthesizes the literature surrounding the interconnectedness between arts and nature, and their impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people.
Methods
Eight major electronic databases were systematically searched, while hand-searching included 20 journals, six books, and contact with experts. The review was conducted using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews, PRISMA guidelines and TIDieR template. All stages were conducted independently by two researchers and the protocol was published on PROSPERO (Registration no.: CRD42021286574).
Results
Although 9,314 records were identified, only 11 records were included as most studies focused either on arts or nature, but not both. Studies were conducted in United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, and Hong Kong, in a range of spaces such as forests, woodlands, beaches, parks, fields, gardens, and school playgrounds. The review encompasses data from 602 participants in total.
Discussion
Arts-in-nature offered an inclusive medium to engage all children and young people, especially those who might otherwise remain disinterested about environmental issues and disengaged with educational programs. Further, arts-in-nature provided stimuli to increase nature connectivity, understand environmental issues and explore ways to prevent environmental disasters. This led to higher environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors, and potential decrease in eco-anxiety.
Conclusion
Although the quality of qualitative studies was high, the quality of quantitative studies was low or unclear, thus quantitative evidence is still at its infancy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed, such as methods and activities to strengthen future interventions. Scaling-up existing interventions may lead to wider recognition and inclusion of arts-in-nature in future health guidelines, including green prescribing.
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Bratman, Hamilton & Daily, 2012;Kamitsis & Francis, 2013;Nisbet, Zelenski & Murphy, 2011). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Beyer, Kaltenbach, Szabo et al., 2014;Chawla, Keena, Pevec et al., 2014;Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal et al., 2009;Park, Kitayama, Karasawa et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Thompson, Roe, Aspinall et al., 2012), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton & Pretty, 2010;Chawla et al., 2014;Park et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson, Jorgensen, Cameron et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Bratman, Hamilton & Daily, 2012;Kamitsis & Francis, 2013;Nisbet, Zelenski & Murphy, 2011). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Beyer, Kaltenbach, Szabo et al., 2014;Chawla, Keena, Pevec et al., 2014;Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal et al., 2009;Park, Kitayama, Karasawa et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Thompson, Roe, Aspinall et al., 2012), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton & Pretty, 2010;Chawla et al., 2014;Park et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson, Jorgensen, Cameron et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
Published version: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858781
Background: The time that children and young people spend in nature and outdoor spaces has decreased significantly over the past 30 years. This was exacerbated with a further 60% decline post-Covid-19 (Natural England, 2020). Research demonstrating that natural environments have a positive impact on health and wellbeing has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions and green prescribing, although evidence for its use is predominantly limited to adults. Growing evidence also shows the impact of arts on all aspects of health and wellbeing. However, what has received scant attention in literature is the interconnection between the two: arts and nature.
Aims: This review synthesises the literature surrounding the interconnectedness between arts and nature, and their impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people.
Methods: Eight major electronic databases were systematically searched, while hand-searching included 20 journals, five books, and contact with experts. The review was conducted using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews, PRISMA guidelines and TIDieR template. All stages were conducted independently by two researchers and the protocol was published on PROSPERO (Registration no.:CRD42021286574).
Results: Although 9,314 records were identified, only 11 records were included as most studies focused either on arts or nature, but not both. Studies were conducted in UK, USA, Ireland, Australia, and Hong Kong, in a range of spaces such as forests, woodlands, beaches, parks, fields, gardens, and school playgrounds. The review encompasses data from 602 participants in total.
Discussion: Arts-in-nature offered an inclusive medium to engage all children and young people, especially those who might otherwise remain disinterested about environmental issues and disengaged with educational programs. Further, arts-in-nature provided stimuli to increase nature connectivity, understand environmental issues and explore ways to prevent environmental disasters. This led to higher environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviours, and potential decrease in eco-anxiety.
Conclusion: Although the quality of qualitative studies was high, the quality of quantitative studies was low or unclear, thus quantitative evidence is still at its infancy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed, such as methods and activities to strengthen future interventions. Scaling-up existing interventions may lead to wider recognition and inclusion of arts-in-nature in future health guidelines, including green prescribing.
... Traditional, punitive approaches may be effective for some children, but this approach alienates others resulting in disruptive behaviour, disciplinary absences, suspensions, disengagement from school, withdrawal and negative long-term life outcomes (DETE, 2013b;Hemphill & Hargreaves, 2010). Evidence suggests that incorporating the natural world into the learning environment, sometimes known as nature-based learning (NBL), may be a beneficial, low-cost alternative to promote learning and engagement in schooling (Kuo et al., 2019(Kuo et al., , 2018bRoe & Aspinall, 2011). ...
... The natural environment has been linked to better behaviour in children. Nature is described as a potential solution for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Taylor & Kuo, 2009, 2011Kuo & Taylor, 2004). Nature has also been identified as a buffer to life stressors (Wells & Evans, 2003), advantageous in emotional development (Flouri et al., 2014), linked to less behavioural problems (Markevych et al., 2014) and greater concentration and impulse inhibition (Taylor et al., 2002) and associated with less depression (Cohen-Cline et al., 2015). ...
The natural environment is associated with better behaviour and academic performance in children. However, research to date has been cross-sectional and it is important for experimental studies to investigate if a causal relationship exists. Further, participant samples from areas characterised as disadvantaged are underrepresented in the research. This study investigates the effect that lessons in nature have on disadvantaged young people’s behaviour and learning compared to lessons in a standard classroom over one school term (10 weeks). A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a socioeconomically disadvantaged city in Australia. Three classes were taught in a standard indoor classroom for 5 weeks; then two of those classes relocated to a green outdoor classroom for the remaining 5 weeks; researcher observations of redirect rates, teacher ratings of behaviour, and academic grades were analysed. Students (13–14 years old) spent more time on-task in outdoor classrooms at the rate of an extra 20 s per teacher redirect, and this effect lasted over several weeks. Although engagement was better, this did not translate to better grades; reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. Outdoor classrooms may promote less disengagement and misbehaviour in class, and this could be significant for those affected disproportionately by it.
... Research has found that environments allowing the infant to be an active partner within the dyadic interaction, for example engaged in mutual enjoyment, fosters positive parent-infant interactions [63]. Research in older children has found associations between time spent in nature and higher positive affect, increased energy, and less anger [64,65]. Parentchild communication (with 3-to 4-year-olds) has also been found to be more responsive and connected in natural compared to indoor environments [66]. ...
Background
The postnatal period is a vulnerable time for mothers to experience stress and mental health difficulties. There is increasing evidence that spending time in nature is beneficial for wellbeing. Nature-based interventions have been developed to support mental health, but not specifically tailored for mothers during the postnatal period. Understanding mothers’ views and experiences of nature would help determine the suitability for and potential impact of such interventions on postnatal wellbeing.
Aims
To explore mothers’ views on the impact of spending time in nature on their postnatal mental wellbeing.
Methods
Focus groups were held with mothers of young children (under five), including mothers from migrant and refugee communities, mothers living with mental health difficulties, and disabled mothers. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results
Four focus groups were held, with a total of 30 participants. Six themes were developed: (1) mothers’ experiences of what constitutes ‘nature’; (2) sensing nature improves wellbeing; (3) natural spaces facilitate human connection; (4) nature provides escape and relief from daily indoor stressors; (5) nature allows new perspectives; and (6) mothers face a variety of environmental, practical, psychological, physical, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers to spending time in nature during the postnatal period.
Conclusions
Mothers report significant benefits to their postnatal wellbeing when spending time in nature. Further research is warranted to understand whether nature-based interventions have the potential to support postnatal wellbeing, socially, mentally, and physically.
... However, the quantity and accessibility of natural environments do Table 5 Coding outcomes and characteristics of experimental studies (Amicone et al., 2018;Dopko et al., 2019;Izenstark et al., 2021;Jenkin et al., 2018;Johnson et al., 2019;Mygind et al., 2018;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Schutte et al., 2017;Shao et al., 2020;Shu & Ma, 2020;Bang et al., 2018;Chiumento et al., 2018;Dettweiler et al., 2017;Ekenga et al., 2019;Harvey et al., 2020;Oh et al., 2020;Razani et al., 2019;van Dijk-Wesselius et al., 2018;Wells, 2000). ...
... Regarding the school context, it has also been documented that making the schoolyard greener led students' to perceiving it as more restorative, reduced their physiological stress, and increased their psychological wellbeing [40]. Roe and Aspinall [41] found greater positive change in affect regarding energy, stress, anger, and hedonic tone of young adolescents with "poor" and "good" behavior after a day in an outdoor educational setting (forest school) compared to an indoor setting. Li and Sullivan [19] also reported, among other benefits, reduction in physiological stress in high school students who were exposed to nature for 45 min only through a window green view. ...
The positive impact of short-term exposure to nature during a green recess in a school day is documented in the literature. In this study we investigated cognitive, academic, and affective effects of a single contact with nature during a regular school lesson in the greenness, compared to an usual classroom lesson, on young students in second and third grades (N = 65). In a within-subjects design, for the cognitive effects we examined children’s (a) selective and sustained attention and (b) math calculation performance in common school tasks. For affective effects we considered (c) their positive and negative mood and (d) the perception of environmental restorativeness. Findings revealed that after a single lesson taught in the green school garden, children had greater selective attention and math calculation performance in two tasks than after a similar lesson in the classroom environment. Moreover, children with higher self-reported emotional difficulties showed greater selective attention and reported a statistically significant increase in positive affect and a tendency to a significant decrease in negative affect after the lesson in the greenness than in the classroom. Students also perceived the green space as more restorative than the classroom environment. Results are discussed against theories on the benefits of exposure to natural environments, highlighting the theoretical and practical significance of the study.
... The school environment has been found to play an important role in the social, emotional, and behavioural wellbeing of children (Gutman & Feinstein, 2008). Access to natural landscapes for play and learning has been linked to increased positive mood and reduced stress, anger, inattention and problem behaviour (Chawla, Keena, Pevec, & Stanley, 2014;Mårtensson et al., 2009;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). An international report on children learning in natural environments brought together evidence from five major reviews focusing on impacts on 'physical health and wellbeing' and 'character capabilities' including "application, self-regulation, empathy, creativity, and innovation, and their capacity to be successful learners" (Waite & Malone, 2016, p. 4). ...
Over the last decade, Forest School (FS) has become a more common part of the educational landscape both in Ireland and in the UK. This paper aims to provide a timely review of research related to FS and begins by situating FS in the broader context of nature-based education and play, before outlining the defining principles and features of FS. The authors then examine the research base for the purported benefits of FS, consider weaknesses of the evidence base and discuss other criticisms that have been levelled at FS. While the prima facie research provides support for the benefits of forest schooling, the conclusions that can be drawn from the research may be limited due to the identified weaknesses of some of the research to date and a somewhat underdeveloped theoretical framework. The authors conclude that additional studies of high quality are required in order to understand the place of FS in the spectrum of pedagogical frameworks, and the potential of FS in the context of the current discourse on wellbeing in education. A number of the big questions that remain in terms of FS as a useful and evidence-based approach in education are discussed.
... While antidepressant medication can lead to a significant reduction of symptoms 12 , there is an urgent need for non-pharmacological interventions to support mental health in people who have developed this illness. The current evidence for mental health benefits of green spaces in people with depression is mixed, with some studies reporting significant effects [21][22][23] and other suggesting reduced benefits relative to healthy individuals 24,25 . Our investigation extends this existing literature by demonstrating Associations are shown unadjusted and adjusted for age, gender, education, occupational status, ethnicity, whether participants could see trees, plants, and see or hear water, and with the implementation of the MICE procedure. ...
The mental health benefits of everyday encounters with birdlife for mental health are poorly understood. Previous studies have typically relied on retrospective questionnaires or artificial set-ups with little ecological validity. In the present study, we used the Urban Mind smartphone application to examine the impact of seeing or hearing birds on self-reported mental wellbeing in real-life contexts. A sample of 1292 participants completed a total of 26,856 ecological momentary assessments between April 2018 and October 2021. Everyday encounters with birdlife were associated with time-lasting improvements in mental wellbeing. These improvements were evident not only in healthy people but also in those with a diagnosis of depression, the most common mental illness across the world. These findings have potential implications for both environmental and wildlife protection and mental healthcare policies. Specific measures, aimed at preserving and increasing everyday encounters with birdlife in urban areas, should be implemented.
... Evidence from the limited research on nature-based learning for autistic children suggests that outdoor education enhances communication (Morrier & Ziegler, 2018; and reduces stress (Friedman & Morrison, 2021). Roe and Aspinall (2011) examined the impact of FS for children classified as showing either 'poor' (n = 12) and 'good' (n = 6) behaviour and found that FS had a restorative effect on anger, energy, stress, and hedonic tone (effect sizes were small to medium but stronger for the 'poor' behaviour group). In a case-bounded qualitative study that, for the first time, captured autistic children's experiences of FS, Bradley and Male (2017), interviewed four autistic children and their parents and teachers and concluded that FS helped support relationship development and risk taking. ...
Spending time in nature has benefits for wellbeing in children, but relatively little is known about how autistic children experience nature. Framed by self-determination theory, this case study addresses this gap by exploring the experiences of 25 autistic children participating in a Forest School at their specialist school in the East of England. We used deductive reflexive thematic analysis to analyse participant observation and parent and child interview data. Our results indicated that Forest School benefited these autistic children through opportunities to play, exercise autonomy, and develop practical, motor, and social skills. However, challenges were also evident, including children absconding and conflict between peers. The success of sessions seemed contingent on adherence to routines and the influence of the adults present. Our findings supported the application of self-determination theory to Forest School to promote psychological wellbeing through autonomy, competence, and relatedness in autistic children. We discuss implications for training and practice.
... Taylor et al, 2001; Kuo &Faber Taylor, 2004;Faber Taylor &Kuo, 2009 S tudy examined indirect experience in nature to children's attention abilities S tudies examined the benefits of direct and indirect experience in nature on concentration, attention, abilities and performance.S tudies focused on benefits to nature on children with disabilities ADD and ADHD S tudy inves tigated direct experience in nature (nature camp) benefits on children cognitive belief. demons trated direct experience in nature benefits on independent mobility and social skills development.S tudies demons trated the benefits of direct and indirect experience in nature: playing in fores t and orchard, gardening and being in sensory garden on children'Laaksoharju et al., 2012McCurdy et al., 2010Roe & Aspinall , 2011. ...
ABS TRACT: Childhood is a very important age period and often has been overlooked. As unawareness that many behavioral traits affect experiences of the early years of our lives so the environment in action and learning during the operation, play a crucial role. When it comes to in public areas and keeping with their peers, children could learn many life circums tances, known as social behaviors. This s tudy aims to inves tigate the role of green space playgrounds in children's development. For this s tudy, six playgrounds in Shiraz have been considered. This s tudy is combinational and has used the library method for data collection, the indirect and field view. In the indirect method, 200 ques tionnaires were randomly dis tributed between parents and children 9 to 12 years in playgrounds, residential complexes, schools, parks. And then we try to analyze the data by using s tatis tical methods and the SPSS20 software. The results of this research showed that green space in the playground has a great effect on the growth and development of children, and this has led to the emotional-social and cognitive development of children.
... This evidence base points toward more areas for potential exploration of mediators between contact with nature and depression in children, such as cognitive factors and self-esteem. Forest schools (FS) are an example of an NBL which provide regular outdoor learning for children and there is suggestive evidence that FSs may improve the mood of children when compared with a typical school day (Roe and Aspinall, 2011). Research has shown that children participating in FS displayed increased self-confidence, improved social skills, motivation and communication (Murray and O'Brien, 2005). ...
There is growing interest in nature-based interventions (NBI) to improve human health and wellbeing. An important nascent area is exploring the potential of outdoor therapies to treat and prevent common mental health problems like depression. In this conceptual analysis on the nature–depression nexus, we distil some of the main issues for consideration when NBIs for depression are being developed. We argue that understanding the mechanisms, or ‘active ingredients’ in NBIs is crucial to understand what works and for whom. Successfully identifying modifiable mediating intervention targets will pave the way for interventions with increased efficacy. We highlight a non-exhaustive list of five clinically relevant putative, candidate mechanisms which may underly the beneficial effects of NBIs on depression: stress, rumination, mindfulness, sleep and exercise. We also make the case that when developing NBIs it is important to not neglect young people, explore personalised approaches and focus on both treatment and prevention approaches. To achieve these aims methodologically rigorous programmes of clinical research are needed that include well-powered and controlled experimental designs including randomised controlled trials, qualitative research, longitudinal studies and large prospective cohorts.
... In contrast, outdoor nature-based programs may contribute to children's healthy behaviours, physical and mental health. In fact, there is a growing body of literature suggesting that outdoor nature-based programs can help promote the children's mental health and emotional well-being (e.g., Marchant et al., 2019, McCree et al., 2018Roe & Aspinall, 2011) and provide the children with opportunities to become more active (Fjørtoft, 2004, Harwood, et al., 2017Marchant et al., 2019;O'Brien & Murray, 2007). In our survey study, we asked respondents to report activities that children typically experienced within the program, including hiking for short and long distances, risky and/or adventurous play, storytelling, and dramatic play (see Figure 1). ...
In 2015, Canada adopted the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development and committed to its 17 sustainable development goals aiming to address issues of social, economic and environmental nature (United Nations, n.d.). Although Canada proposed an Indicator Framework with measurable targets to track progress on certain goals, these are still in the initial stage of development and discussion (Government of Canada, 2019). With increased demand for nature-based and outdoor educational programs in North America, exploring how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) may or may not align with current educational practices seems prudent. Specifically, we ask: Are the social, economic and environmental issues of concern integrated within outdoor nature-based programming? Could immersive outdoor programs be a viable avenue for helping Canada reach some of the global sustainable development goals? Finally, adopting a critical lens on the SDGs more broadly, are there additional ways in which teaching and learning for sustainability 1 can be implemented within Canadian nature-based programming? In order to examine these questions, we start by briefly exploring the SDGs and the Canadian proposed targets. Utilizing some of the results of a Pan-Canadian large-scale survey study, we delved into survey questions that examined the diversity of the attendees, perceived benefits of programs, and the ways in which sustainability for education are incorporated within programs (e.g., climate change and environmental issues, conservation and stewardship, and Indigenous rights). Findings from the latter study suggest that outdoor nature-based programs can help address several SDGs and promote the development of children's key competencies that could enable them to engage with issues of sustainability. Yet, we contend that further studies are needed to examine how and to what extent outdoor nature-based programs can help equip future generations with a sustainable ethos.
... Green space enhances children's interaction with nature and affects their cross-cultural communication and growth [101,102]. Frances et al. [71] found that the interaction between natural environments and animals is extremely important for children's growth. Echeverria et al. [74] confirmed that urban green space, such as parks and playgrounds, can significantly promote cross-cultural contact and friendship between children. ...
In recent years, the interest in the relationship between urban green space and residents’ mental health has gradually risen. A number of researchers have investigated the causal relationship and possible mediators between the two, although few have summarized these mediators. For this reason, we searched for relevant studies and filtered them by criteria and quality score, and analyzed the mediators and paths of the impact of urban green space on residents’ mental health. The mediators can be divided into environmental factors, outdoor activity, and social cohesion. From the perspective of heterogeneity, both individual characteristics (e.g., age and gender) and group characteristics (e.g., level of urban development and urban density) of residents are considered to be the cause of various mediating effects. Types of urban green space tend to affect residents’ mental health through different paths. Furthermore, this review discusses the details of each part under the influence paths. Finally, the policy implications for urban green space planning from three mediator levels are put forward based on an analysis of the situation in different countries.
... This has political relevance as questions surrounding how we can improve connections with nature in children moves up on the political agenda [22]. This discussion relates not only to potential pro-environmental behavioural gains [122,123] but also to child development [124,125]. ...
The health benefits associated with spending time in natural environments have been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns and restrictions to safeguard public health have exacerbated the pre-existing mental health crisis and rise of non-communicable diseases. Thus, the importance of nature as a health resource has been elevated, hastening calls for a better understanding of how health benefits might differ across user groups and nature provisions. In this regard , urban green spaces have become the greatest research focus; however, blue spaces, especially inland freshwater (e.g., wetlands), remain less studied. First-hand user experiences are also under-represented. This exploratory study examines the motivations and benefits of active wetland centre users in the UK, both during and after visits. Responses to three open-ended questions were collated online from 385 participants, and a qualitative content analysis was conducted based on an existing taxonomy from users of urban green spaces. The results showed strong motivations to visit due to the biodiversity at the site (mainly the birdlife), while less tangible nature (e.g., fresh air) and amenities were also important. In contrast to other studies on natural environments, physical activity was a less influential motivation. Salient derived effects included positive and intensely positive emotions , relaxation and mental restoration. After visits to wetland centres, feelings of vitality and satisfaction were the most prominent effects that emerged. For decision-makers looking to leverage inland blue spaces for public health benefit, our results highlight the broad range and relative prominence of the reasons for use and the associated perceived health benefits derived by users of UK wetland centres. They highlight how biodiversity, abiotic nature and good amenities are important qualities to consider when planning, managing and encouraging people to use natural environments for health benefit, qualities that may also provide important environmental co-benefits.
... Public health researchers also use socio-ecological model to understand the impacts of environment on human health and behavior (Sallis, et al., 2006;Sallis, Owen, & Fisher, 2008). In this context, the restorative effects of green spaces on human health have been investigated as a mechanism to increase the public's mental wellbeing and quality of life (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Wells & Rollings, 2012). ...
Teenagers face unprecedented levels of stress and mental health issues. However, this age group is understudied
in terms of which green environments are restorative for them. This study investigates associations between
perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) of urban green spaces (UGSs) and teenagers’ perceived restoration, stress,
and mental health. Data were collected through surveys with 384 teenagers ages 13–19 in 2018 in eight different
UGSs in Aydın, Turkey. Measures included the PSDs (i.e., nature, serene, space, rich in species, social, prospect,
culture, and refuge), the Perceived Restorative Components Scale for children (PRCS-C) (i.e., fascination, being
away-physical, compatibility, being away-psychological, and extent), and health indicators (i.e., stress and
mental health). Multivariate linear regression and stratified analyses were conducted to examine associations
and differences between boys and girls controlling for confounding factors. Regression analyses showed that
‘nature’ was positively associated with teenagers’ perceived restorativeness (i.e., fascination, being awayphysical,
and extent). Whereas, ‘refuge’ was positively associated with perceived restorativeness (i.e., being
away-physical) and negatively associated with teenagers’ stress. The results also showed that while ‘space’ was
negatively associated with perceived restorativeness (i.e., fascination), ‘prospect’ was negatively associated with
stress and positively associated with mental health. Stratified analyses revealed that ‘nature’ was both positively
associated with boys’ perceived restorativeness (i.e., being away-physical) and girls’ perceived restorativeness (i.
e., fascination). While ‘space’ was negatively associated with boys’ perceived restorativeness (i.e., fascination),
‘prospect’ was negatively associated with boys’ stress and positively associated with boys’ mental health. The
findings also showed that ‘prospect’ and ‘refuge’ were negatively associated with girls’ stress. The findings
suggest that providing characteristics of ‘nature’, ‘refuge’, and ‘prospect’ in UGSs may provide restorative effects
and mental benefits to teenagers. However, further research is needed before using these characteristics as a tool
by landscape architects and city planners.
... The environment plays an important role in behaviors [1][2][3][4][5]. For example, the environment influences pro-social, generous, and moral behaviors, and it is well known that these are important factors of a good society. ...
The environment affects moral behavior. Previous research found that a beautiful environment leads to pro-social behavior, which is related to behavioral intention. However, the effect of environmental aesthetic value on immoral and moral behavior remains unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we explored the effect of environmental aesthetic value on behavioral intention and its possible mechanisms. We conducted four experiments. Experiment 1 adopted the priming paradigm and IAT paradigm to explore the relationship between environmental aesthetic value and behavioral intention. It used photographs of the environment as priming stimuli and scene drawings of behavior as target stimuli. The results showed that participants had a higher intention to engage in moral behavior in an environment with a high aesthetic value, and a lower intention to engage in immoral behavior, compared to in an environment with a low aesthetic value. Similarly, an environment with a low aesthetic value was related to immoral behavior. Experiment 2 further explored the possible mechanism for the above results: changes in moral judgment. The results showed that moral judgment in different environments may lead to different behavioral intentions. The current study extends prior research by demonstrating the effect of environmental aesthetic value on behavioral intention and moral judgment, and good knowledge about the relationship between environmental aesthetic value and moral behavior. In addition, it provides a new hypothesis for the relationship between environment and behavior according to the results of the environment–behavior matching hypothesis, which can provide a new perspective on moral education.
... In a study of deprived communities, Ward Thompson et al. (p. 1) found that "results indicate significant relationships between self-reported stress (p < 0.01), diurnal patterns of cortisol secretion (p < 0.05), and the quantity of green space in the living environment". Roe and Aspinall [155] reported that, for children, access to green space had a positive effect on their mood, that included energy levels, stress, and anger. ...
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was growing interest in designing healthier neighbourhoods. Adopting this perspective brings attention to how conditions in neighbourhoods (directly and indirectly) affect their inhabitants’ physical health and mental wellbeing. However, considerably less attention has been paid to how to alleviate such conditions through integrated interventions designed to operate specifically at the neighbourhood scale. To address this gap, this paper introduces the term “unhealthy neighbourhood syndrome” (UNS). The conceptual clarity and practical utility offered by using this term are critically examined. The paper contains a rigorous review and critical analysis of academic and grey literature on what are held to be the relationships between key features of the built environment and people’s health and wellbeing. It also examines literature offering advice on how urban designers should make neighbourhoods healthier. It illustrates the complexity of the range of issues involved and the complicated web of top down, bottom up and middling out actors that need to be involved in making decisions about them. Despite having inherent weaknesses, the term “unhealthy neighbourhood syndrome” is judged to be useful. It illustrates how seemingly separate issues operate in urban design, promoted for tackling specific symptoms of ill health, need to be addressed jointly through an integrated programme of parallel work streams operating at the neighbourhood scale. The paper is innovative in identifying the wide cluster of symptoms used to describe unhealthy neighbourhoods in the literature as being a “syndrome”. Its significance lies in its injunction that this syndrome needs to be tackled through integrated streams of remedial action drawing on experience and expertise that lie beyond those offered by the traditional membership of urban design teams.
... Natural or outdoor space has a great impact on the social, cognitive and emotional development of children and is effective on their mental and physical health (Arvidsen, 2018;Manner, Doi & Laird, 2020;Blackwell, 2015). Forest and Nature Schools can also increase children's risk-taking and decision-making power and resilience, improve self-confidence, motivation and concentration, and develop children's social, teamwork and citizenship skills (Harris, 2018;O'Brien & Murray, 2007;Blackwell, 2015;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Hordyk, Dulude & Shem 2015). The findings of research by Cumming and Nash (2015) in Australia provide evidence that these schools can strengthen children's sense of belonging and relational connections. ...
The Nature Schools movement in Iran commenced in 2014 and expanded steadily for half a decade, growing to almost 100 schools. Emulating similar educational inititives in Europe and North America, Nature Schools offered outdoor educational experiences for pre-school and primary school years, spreading across both metropolitan and regional Iran. Before the first Nature Schools were started, detailed initial planning between academics and the government Environment Department and Education Ministry was undertaken which projected the roll-out of many more Nature Schools. The results of this study demonstrated that the establishment and growth pattern of the Iranian Nature Schools had different causes stimulating its commencement, how these schools released a new pedagogical practice for teachers, children and their families and how this movement offered an alternative curriculum in nature with school children outdoors. Thus, despite the eclipse of the Nature School movement, a longer time-frame indicates positive aspects, including the establishment of green or eco-schools and the institutionalization of the environmental focus in pre-school education. Many educators saw Nature Schools benefitting students’ personal learning and academic development. Political concerns after several years of growth led to some closures and slowing down of the growth of Nature Schools in 2018-19. At the same time, a new national environmental curriculum was being embedded across all age-levels of schooling in Iran.
... SRT has also been applied in a sample of 18 11-year-olds, some of whom were considered to have "bad" behavior. Roe and Aspinall (2011) measured mood and reflection on personal development before and after a typical indoor lesson and a FS session. The authors reported that greater positive behavioral change occurred after time in the forest environment, suggesting that the restorative potential of nature may have been at play. ...
School is often stressful for autistic students. Similarly, special educators are susceptible to burnout because of the unique demands of their jobs. There is ample evidence that spending time outside, particularly in nature, has many positive effects on mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. In this case study of two special educators and five autistic students in a social skills group at an elementary school in the southeastern United States, we sought to identify the effects of moving the class outside several times per week. Findings indicated that while there were challenges, the autistic children experienced numerous affordances that supported development toward achieving Individualized Education Plan goals. Moreover, there were also notable positive effects for the special educators. We found that even with little prior experience, learning outside is possible and beneficial to everyone involved.
... In contrast, outdoor nature-based programs may contribute to children's healthy behaviours, physical and mental health. In fact, there is a growing body of literature suggesting that outdoor nature-based programs can help promote the children's mental health and emotional well-being (e.g., Marchant et al., 2019, McCree et al., 2018Roe & Aspinall, 2011) and provide the children with opportunities to become more active (Fjørtoft, 2004, Harwood, et al., 2017Marchant et al., 2019, O'Brien & Murray, 2007. In our survey study, we asked respondents to report the activities that children typically experienced within the program, including hiking for short and long distances, risky and/or adventurous play, storytelling, and dramatic play (see Figure 1). ...
In 2015, Canada adopted the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development and committed to its 17 sustainable development goals aiming to address issues of social, economic and environmental nature. Although Canada proposed an Indicator Framework with measurable targets to track progress on certain goals, these are still in the initial stage of development and discussion (Government of Canada, 2019). With increased demand for nature-based and outdoor educational programs in North America, exploring how the Sustainable Development (SD) goals may or may not align with current educational practices seems prudent. Specifically, we ask: Are the social, economic and environmental issues of concern integrated within outdoor nature-based programming? Could immersive outdoor programs be a viable avenue for helping Canada to reach some of the global sustainable development goals? Finally, adopting a critical lens on the SD goals more broadly, are there additional ways in which teaching and learning for sustainability 1 can be implemented within Canadian nature-based programming? In order to examine these questions, we start by briefly exploring the SD goals and the Canadian proposed targets. Utilizing some of the results of a pan-Canadian large-scale survey study, we delve into survey questions that examined the diversity of the attendees, perceived benefits of programs, and the ways in which sustainability for education are incorporated within programs (e.g., climate change and environmental issues, conservation and stewardship, and Indigenous rights). Findings from the latter study suggest that outdoor nature-based programs can help address several SDGs and promote the development of the children's key competencies that could enable them to engage with issues of sustainability. Yet, we contend that further studies are needed to examine how and to what extent outdoor nature-based programs can help equip future generations with a sustainable ethos.
... Different studies analysed the impact of Outdoor Education on children with disabilities and the benefits found in these works have shown how this type of education reduces undesirable behaviours, increases concentration while doing the assigned tasks (Dyment, & Bell, 2008;Fiskum & Jacobsen, 2012c), reduces externalizing behaviour and vitalizes the pupils with internalizing behaviour (Fiskum & Jacobsen, 2012a;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). The advantages of Outdoor Education are innumerable and well documented in the scientific literature which is strongly correlated with the increase in physical activity and fitness in children (Foster & Linney, 2007). ...
... The visual contact with green landscapes consumes our involuntary attention so that directed attention can be restored, according to Attention Restoration Theory. On the other hand, environments with zero or little greenness in highly urbanized areas consume a good deal of our directed attention (Chang et al., 2008;Hartig et al., 2003;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Wang et al., 2016b). Therefore, green landscapes might partially contribute to a better driving performance by restoring our directed attention. ...
Driving on freeways is a daily activity across the world. Poor driving performance on freeways can cause severe injuries and deaths. However, few studies have examined whether and to what extent different types of freeway landscapes influence driving performance. A simulated driving task was designed to measure the impacts of six types of freeway landscape on 33 participants’ driving performance. Each participant completed a driving experiment with six blocks of 90-minute driving sessions in a random sequence. During the experiment, Driving on freeways is a daily activity across the world. Poor driving performance on freeways can cause severe injuries and deaths. However, few studies have examined whether and to what extent different types of freeway landscapes influence driving performance. A simulated driving task was designed to measure the impacts of six types of freeway landscape on 33 participants’ driving performance. Each participant completed a driving experiment with six blocks of 90-minute driving sessions in a random sequence. During the experiment, participants’ driving performance was measured through eight parameters. A set of repeated-measure one-way ANOVA analyses show that landscapes with three-dimensional branch and foliage (shrub & tree) were generally more beneficial for driving performance than barren (concrete-paved ground) or low green landscape conditions (turf). Furthermore, a repeated-measure two-way ANOVA analysis of four conditions with vertical green foliage (two shrub and two tree conditions) showed moderate levels of greenness and complexity are optimal for driving performance.
... Several studies have also examined the demands and preferences for cultural services rendered by urban forests such as social activities, solitude, serenity, security, and aesthetics (Bell et al., 2005;Tyrväinen and Miettinen, 2000;Koo et al., 2013). Urban forests and their educational value have been investigated in both the United Kingdom (Roe and Aspinall, 2011) and the United States (Barnett et al., 2011). Tourism and its impact on urban forests were investigated in Georgia (Deng et al., 2010) and Turkey (Cetin et al., 2018). ...
Urban greening policies have been established and implemented to improve the living conditions for urban dwellers in the process of urbanization. This research examines urban greening policies in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Media content analysis is applied to identify and interpret frames on urban greening. Articles about urban green spaces published from the DPRK newspaper Rodong Shinmun from 1959 to 2018 were analyzed with an ecosystem service approach. The articles presented three frames on urban greening policies; diagnostic, prognostic and motivational. The diagnostic frame of the media identified the values and functions of urban green spaces with an ecosystem service approach. Our findings reveal that edible trees in urban areas were highlighted as provisioning services; disaster control and environmental protection, as regulating and supporting services; and recreation and landscape, as cultural services. The prognostic frame proposed a strategic planning system for urban greening through integration between the forest and urban sectors. The motivational frame of the media encouraged people's participation in a nationwide mass movement for urban greening that links responsibility and patriotism. Therefore, in the DPRK, media frames provide us with insights of urban greening policies; (1) emerging new concepts of urban forests as spaces for creating sustainable conditions in metropolitan areas, (2) integrating the forest and urban sectors, and (3) diversifying stakeholders including urban communities as policy target group.
... Experimental studies exclusively investigated nature interaction in the context of the school; that is, in the form of forest school versus teaching as usual (e.g. Roe and Aspinall, 2011) or horticultural activities in school (e.g. Lee et al., 2018). Most of these analyses (n = 23) included children over the age of six. ...
Background
Existing research indicates that spending time in nature is associated with diverse aspects of children’s health and wellbeing. Although fundamental to later life chances and health, no systematic reviews, to our knowledge, have focused specifically on the effects of interaction with nature on socioemotional functioning in childhood.
Objectives
Amongst children, what is the consistency of associations between the availability of or spending time in nature on socioemotional function and development? Furthermore, which child behaviours and states independently associate with socioemotional function and availability of or spending time in nature, and what is the consistency of associations between these behaviours and states and contact with nature?
Data sources
Embase, Environment Complete, MEDLINE, and APA PsycINFO. Eligible studies were backward and forward snowball-searched.
Study eligibility criteria
Studies investigating effects of, or associations between, availability of or interaction with nature on socioemotional or proximal outcomes in children under the age of 12 years were included in this review.
Study appraisal and synthesis methods
The internal validity of studies investigating socioemotional outcomes were based on assessments of elements of study design, conduct, and reporting to identify potential issues related to confounding or other biases. The number of analyses indicating positive, negative, and non-significant associations between availability or interaction with green space and the outcomes were summed.
Results
A total of 223 eligible full-texts, of which 43 pertained to socioemotional outcomes and 180 to proximal outcomes, met eligibility criteria. Positive associations between availability of and spending time in green space were found with children’s intra- and interpersonal socioemotional function and development. Proportions of positive findings ranged from 13.9% to 55% across experimental and observational research, exposures, populations, and contexts. Modifying and mediating factors were identified.
We found consistent evidence for improved aspects of cognition and, for children over six years, reduced risk of obesity and overweight in association with green space; consistent links between movement behaviours in the experimental, but not observational research; tentative trends suggesting associations with play, motor skills, language, screen time, and communication skills; little evidence for positive associations between green space and mood, physical wellbeing, and stress; some evidence for associations with healthy birth outcomes, and little evidence for direct associations between availability of green space and asthma and allergy prevalence, however, mediation via, for example, air pollution was likely.
Limitations
We identified few studies without either probable or severe risk of bias in at least one item. Improved study quality may therefore result in different results. Restricting analyses to include only studies considered at low risk of bias indicated similar or slightly lower proportions of positive findings. Risk of bias in proximal outcomes was not assessed.
Conclusions
The empirical evidence for benefits of availability of and interaction green space for child socioemotional function and development must currently be considered limited. A number of proximal indicators were identified.
Systematic review registration number. PROSPERO ID: CRD42019135016.
... Zajímavá studie z prostředí lesních škol v Anglii ukázala nejenom to, že žáci po dni v lesní škole pociťovali lepší náladu, více energie, méně stresu a zloby než žáci po dni stráveném běžným vyučováním ve třídě, ale také to, že největší změna nastala u žáků, kteří měli problémy s chováním. 173 Je možné, že pro děti ze znevýhodněného zázemí, více vystavované stresu a s menší příležitostí pravidelného pobytu v zeleni, jsou efekty přírodního prostředí na zlepšení nálady, zvýšení pozornosti či snížení stresu vyšší. Přesto se ukazuje, že učení venku nepřináší lepší vztah žáků k životnímu prostředí samo od sebe. ...
Publikace ukazuje, jak učení venku v přírodě přináší uspokojení základních psychologických potřeb dětí, vyšší vnitřní motivací k učení, zlepšené chování ve škole a lepší vzdělávací výsledky napříč předměty. Popisuje také hlavní překážky, které učení venku brání, představuje inspirativní příklady ze zahraničí a shrnuje doporučení, co vše bychom měli udělat, aby se učení venku v přírodě v naší zemi mohlo více rozšířit.
Kniha čerpá z více než 200 výzkumů a dalších titulů odborné literatury z různých koutů světa a představuje tak dosud největší a nejkomplexnější práci o tématu učení venku v českém jazyce. Navzdory svému odbornému zaměření je psána srozumitelně a čtivě. Text doprovází přitažlivé fotografie a grafika. Díky tomu je kniha přístupná nejenom teoretikům ve vzdělávání, ale také učitelům a ředitelům, vychovatelům, úředníkům a rodičům.
... Findings suggested 4 six positive outcomes of Forest School on children's confidence, social skills, language and communication, motivation and concentration, physical skills, and knowledge and understanding. Later studies' findings aligned with Murray and O'Brien (2005) by proposing that Forest School could promote the children's social and collaborative skills (Cumming and Nash, 2015), physical skills (Elliott and Chancellor, 2014), and mental health (Roe and Aspinall, 2011), to name a few. In addition, Turtle, Convery, and Convery (2015) found that children participating in Forest School demonstrated stronger pro-environmental attitudes than children who did not. ...
Over the last decade, interest in nature-based educational programs has been growing in Canada, yet there has been little research on the nature of these programs and how they are being implemented. This small-scale study provides baseline information on the characteristics of Canadian Forest Schools, the challenges that educators face in starting up these outdoor programs, and the potential benefits for enrolled children. An online survey study was conducted in the fall of 2017, to which 25 Forest School educators from across Canada responded. Results suggest that Canadian Forest School programs vary in terms of size, age of the children, type of outdoor setting, funding source, and schedule. Participants reported facing challenges such as finding an appropriate outdoor site, safety concerns related to outdoor activities, and the lack of support from different stakeholders. Many of these barriers were surmounted by developing relationships with local partners, adapting programs to comply with local regulations, and educating the community on Forest School pedagogy. In line with the growing international body of research on the benefits of Forest School (e.g., Elliott & Chancellor, 2014; Müller et al., 2017; Murray & O’Brien, 2005; Slade, Lowery & Bland, 2013), Canadian Forest School educators have observed benefits for the children, including the development of their social and physical skills and self-confidence, increased appreciation for nature, and enhanced creativity. Further research is needed to fully capture and examine this growing practice in the Canadian context.
... Kim et al. found that larger and more treed areas within a neighborhood were positively correlated with Hispanic 4th and 5th graders' reported health-related quality of life [131]. Studying adolescents from across a behavioral spectrum, Roe et al. found greater positive changes in energy, stress, hedonic tone, and anger at a forest school as compared to a conventional school, with a poor behavior group benefiting the most [132]. Participants in the TreeHab climbing therapy program showed decreased anger, fatigue and confusion, and increased vitality compared to recreational tree climbing, though results differed by tree species climbed and climber gender [133]. ...
The urban forest is a green infrastructure system that delivers multiple environmental, economic, social and health services, and functions in cities. Environmental benefits of urban trees are well understood, but no review to date has examined how urban trees affect human health. This review provides a comprehensive summary of existing literature on the health impacts of urban trees that can inform future research, policy, and nature-based public health interventions. A systematic search used keywords representing human health, environmental health, and urban forestry. Following screening and appraisal of several thousand articles, 201 studies were conceptually sorted into a three-part framework. Reducing Harm, representing 41% of studies, includes topics such as air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, heat exposure, and pollen. Restoring Capacities, at 31%, includes attention restoration, mental health, stress reduction, and clinical outcomes. Building Capacities, at 28%, includes topics such as birth outcomes, active living, and weight status. The studies that were reviewed show substantial heterogeneity in purpose and method yet indicate important health outcomes associated with people’s exposure to trees. This review will help inform future research and practice, and demonstrates why urban forest planning and management should strategically promote trees as a social determinant of public health.
Forest school is a pedagogical practice widely used in the U.K., and increasingly in other parts of the world. This paper contributes to the growing body of research on forest school by focussing on how children engage with and respond to forest school. It draws on practitioners’ experience of working with children to examine their perspectives on how children react to forest school. While practitioners felt the majority of children enjoyed forest school, they identified six specific groups of children who benefit. The findings are related to existing research to explore how the learning environment enables children to experience individual learning journeys at forest school.
Forest intangible values (e.g., emotions, aesthetics, and spirituality) are key nonmaterial values supporting human well-being. However, their evaluation is far from trivial, as they are intertwined with people's individual values and beliefs. The aim of this paper is to explore which participatory methods can serve best to map and assess the emotional and spiritual contributions that individuals and communities attach to forest spaces. This is a research gap important to investigate as intangible forest values tend to disappear and change, thereby altering the socio-cultural construct behind the formation and preservation of a given forest landscape. This is crucial in forest communities that are threatened by socioeconomic changes such as nature commodification, resource overexploitation, and declining demography. Different tools were evaluated, through both a systematic literature review and interviews with experts in participatory methods. Results from the systematic review, validated by the interviewees, indicate 15 participatory methods used to assess intangible forest contributions. Performative and walking methods emerge as the most widely used. These techniques capture the vision of both individuals and communities and aim at giving an active voice to the environment, making nature part of the decision-making process. This research confirms that participatory approaches are pivotal methods to unfold connections amongst stakeholders dealing with intangible forest ecosystem services, supporting the multifunctional role of forests and thus the delivering of national and worldwide policy objectives.
This review aims to summarise existing research on the forest-based pedagogical approach known as forest school, as developed in the UK. Modelled on the nature kindergartens of northern Europe, forest school is popular in the UK and is now being practiced or explored in other countries around the world. Drawing on papers specifically researching forest school, identified through the Scopus database, it identifies and reviews key themes emerging from the literature: research on its development, relationship to classroom teaching and the national curriculum, impact on children’s development, and their relationship to the environment and environmental behaviour. It identifies the challenges and tensions emerging in the practice of forest school, between the performative agenda of schools and the alternative learning approaches embedded in forest school praxis. It summarises the attempts by several authors to develop theoretical models of forest school. It discusses the transferability of this forest education practice to new cultures, environments and educational systems. Finally, it concludes by identifying challenges for further research.
Aestheticians pointed out that the long immersion in the beautiful environment plays an important role on the moral education. The research mainly tested the opinion and examined the influence of the environmental aesthetics on moral behaviours and immoral behaviours. Meanwhile, we also further explored the possible pathways for environmental aesthetics influencing moral education, the mediating role of moral disengagement. We invited 334 junior high school students to complete relevant questionnaires. The results found that the higher environmental aesthetics, the lower moral disengagement, and further the higher moral behaviours (the number of donations) and the lower immoral behaviours (lying behaviours). The results also found that the mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationship between environment aesthetics and immoral behaviours. But the moral disengagement didn’t play a mediating role in the relation between environmental aesthetics and moral behaviours. These results demonstrated the effect of environmental aesthetics on moral education.
Los ecosistemas marino-costeros brindan servicios y beneficios que contribuyen al bienestar de la población, los cuales requieren ser estudiados, sistematizados y difundidos. Los servicios o bienes generados por estos ecosistemas son los beneficios directos e indirectos que son vitales para los seres humanos, y demás formas de vida. Constituyen la base donde se generan ciclos, cadenas tróficas, nichos, poblaciones, relaciones, paisajes, y valores culturales. Estos bienes y servicios, pueden estar claramente reconocidos, valorados o en algunos casos ser ignorados, respecto a la importancia que tienen en la vida de las personas y demás organismos. Estos servicios se clasifican como de base, provisión, regulación y culturales.
This chapter presents a summary of a longitudinal mixed methods study tracking 11 children (aged 5–7 on entry), defined as disadvantaged in multiple ways. They attended weekly Forest School and outdoor learning sessions over three years. The study investigates the project’s impact on the children in terms of their academic attainment, wellbeing and connection to nature. The children’s attendance and academic attainment improved in comparison to their non-participating peers at school. The findings emphasise the importance of how social free play outdoors and relationships with a particular place can establish emotional resilience and self-regulation.
Exclusion statistics make the over representation of children from particular groups, year, after year, difficult to ignore. This chapter focuses on pedagogy that supports excluded children’s behaviour and relationship development by providing needs-led outdoor learning experiences. Five specific themes were identified when students took part in learning outside experiences: individual student behaviour improved; peer-to-peer interactions improved; students worked together when learning outside; students enjoyed learning outside; and student-teacher interactions were improved. This chapter calls for learning outside to be incorporated into the core curriculum offering for all students and for the use of the relational learning pedagogies explored within this research to be considered as a form of intervention for those students at high risk of exclusion.
A pandemia de COVID-19 impôs novos modos de relação entre as pessoas e seus ambientes e nos desafiou a avaliar e repensar o habitat humano de modo a acomodar e dar suporte a tais mudanças. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é abordar características físicas da moradia em sua relação com a satisfação ambiental no contexto da quarentena. Para tal, são apresentados os resultados de uma pesquisa da qual participaram 1858 pessoas, majoritariamente do Sul do Brasil, realizada por meio de questionário online aplicado de abril a maio de 2020, num momento de maior isolamento social no país. Os participantes caracteristicamente avaliaram a própria moradia de forma positiva, porém aspectos ligados à oferta de espaço e de acesso a elementos naturais (como plantas e luz natural) estiveram entre os mais citados como características deficientes da habitação. Além disso, condições inadequadas de iluminação estiveram relacionadas a alterações de padrão de sono ou nível de alerta. Observou-se ainda que moradores de casas, bem como residentes de habitações com mais quartos, apresentaram avaliações mais positivas da moradia como lugar para se passar a quarentena. Essas relações foram discutidas a partir do conhecimento acerca do papel que o controle da privacidade e o acesso a elementos naturais têm para a promoção de bem-estar, e por conseguinte, da satisfação. O estudo põe em ênfase a responsabilidade da arquitetura na promoção da qualidade de vida, permitindo repensar para um futuro próximo a adequabilidade dos contextos ambientais às condições do habitar humano.
A pandemia de COVID-19 impôs novos modos de relação entre as pessoas e seus ambientes de vida e nos desafiou a avaliar e repensar o habitat humano de modo a acomodar e dar suporte a tais mudanças. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é abordar características físicas do ambiente de moradia em sua relação com a satisfação ambiental no contexto da quarentena. Para tal, são apresentados os resultados de uma pesquisa da qual participaram 1858 pessoas, majoritariamente da região Sul do Brasil, realizada por meio de questionário online aplicado ao longo do período de abril a maio de 2020, num momento de maior isolamento social no país. Os participantes caracteristicamente avaliaram a própria moradia de forma positiva, porém aspectos ligados à oferta de espaço e de acesso a elementos naturais (como plantas e luz natural) estiveram entre os mais citados como características deficientes da habitação. Além disso, condições inadequadas de iluminação estiveram relacionadas a alterações de padrão de sono ou nível de alerta. Observou-se ainda que moradores de casas, bem como residentes de habitações com mais quartos, apresentaram avaliações mais positivas da moradia como lugar para se passar a quarentena. Essas relações foram discutidas a partir do conhecimento acerca do papel que o controle da privacidade e o acesso a elementos naturais têm para a promoção de saúde e bem-estar, e por conseguinte, da satisfação. O estudo põe em ênfase a responsabilidade da arquitetura na promoção da qualidade de vida, permitindo repensar para um futuro próximo a adequabilidade dos contextos ambientais às condições do habitar humano. ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed new relations between people and their living environments and challenged us to review and rethink the human habitat to accommodate and support such changes. The aim of this work is to address physical characteristics of the living environment in relation to environmental satisfaction in the context of quarantine. To this end, we present the results of a survey which was attended by 1858 people, mostly from South Brazil, conducted through an online questionnaire applied from April to May 2020, at a time of greater social isolation in the country. Participants typically evaluated their own housing in a positive way, but aspects linked to the provision of space and access to natural elements (such as plants and natural light) were among the most frequently cited as deficient characteristics of housing. In addition, inadequate lighting conditions were related to changes in sleep patterns or alertness. It was also observed that residents of houses, as well as residents of houses with more rooms, presented more positive ratings of the house as a place to spend the quarantine. These relations were discussed based on the knowledge about the role that the control of privacy and access to natural elements have for the promotion of health and well-being, and therefore, satisfaction. The study highlights the responsibility of architecture in promoting quality of life, allowing to rethink for the near future the adequacy of environmental contexts to the conditions of human inhabit.
Context:
Daily outdoor play is encouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Existing evidence is unclear on the independent effect of nature exposures on child health.
Objective:
We systematically evaluated evidence regarding the relationship between nature contact and children's health.
Data sources:
The database search was conducted by using PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsychInfo, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science in February 2021.
Study selection:
We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. In all searches, the first element included nature terms; the second included child health outcome terms.
Data extraction:
Of the 10 940 studies identified, 296 were included. Study quality and risk of bias were assessed.
Results:
The strongest evidence for type of nature exposure was residential green space studies (n = 147, 50%). The strongest evidence for the beneficial health effects of nature was for physical activity (n = 108, 32%) and cognitive, behavioral, or mental health (n = 85, 25%). Physical activity was objectively measured in 55% of studies, and 41% of the cognitive, behavioral, or mental health studies were experimental in design.
Limitations:
Types of nature exposures and health outcomes and behaviors were heterogenous. Risk of selection bias was moderate to high for all studies. Most studies were cross-sectional (n = 204, 69%), limiting our ability to assess causality.
Conclusions:
Current literature supports a positive relationship between nature contact and children's health, especially for physical activity and mental health, both public health priorities. The evidence supports pediatricians in advocating for equitable nature contact for children in places where they live, play, and learn.
Participatory school ground design projects have acknowledged benefits for children’s sense of empowerment, ownership and learning, but the play behaviour outcomes of these school ground projects are less understood. The aim was to investigate the use of a renovated school ground in Colorado, USA that had engaged students in the redesign process. Behaviour mapping investigated the spatial distribution of children’s (n = 342) play behaviours, through observations of active, constructive, imaginative, reflective and conversational school ground play. Walk-along and semi-structured interviews with 52 students aged 5–13 years and 9 school staff explored views of the school ground design post-construction. The results indicate that there were aspects of the school ground design that warranted further improvement to facilitate social interaction, girls’ preferred play choices, and older children’s sense of challenge in the school ground. The research presents design recommendations and reflects upon the benefits of continued community engagement in school redesign.
Dabaja ([2021]. “The Forest School Impact on Children: Reviewing Two Decades of Research.” Education 3-13. doi:10.1080/03004279.2021.1889013) drew on the literature published between 2000 and 2019 to identify seven main impacts of Forest School on children and then outlined two of these impacts which pertained to social and cooperative skills and physical skills. Expanding on the latter work, this article aimed to shed light on the five remaining Forest School impacts: (a) learning performance and cognitive skills, (b) self-confidence and self-esteem, (c) emotional and mental wellbeing, (d) risk management skills, and (e) environmental awareness and sense of belonging. I then tapped into the findings of this review and other resources to advance a set of research suggestions in the Forest School realm.
TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR PSYCHIATRIE | JAARGANG 62 | OKTOBER 2020 914 REACTIE OP 'Huisvesting, lichtinval, groenvoorziening en geeste-lijke gezondheid' Met veel interesse heb ik het essay van Meesters e.a. (2020) gelezen waarin zij een lans breken voor het toekomstge-richt betrekken van een ecologische visie in de nieuw-bouw van psychiatrische afdelingen. Zij snijden hierbij een onderbelichte vraagstelling in ons vakgebied aan, namelijk wat de invloed is van architecturale ingrepen op de mentale gezondheid van gebruikers, een vraag die bij ontwerpplannen niet standaard wordt voorgelegd aan zorginhoudelijke professionals. Reeds in 1570 schreef de Italiaanse architect Andrea Palladio in zijn 'Vier boeken over architectuur' dat we moeten bouwen om onszelf en anderen een betere gemoedstoestand te geven door kalmte, harmonie en waardigheid te bevorderen. Bij enkele van hun bevindingen dienen echter kantteke-ningen geplaatst te worden. Zo stellen zij 'ook in kritische, systematische reviews en meta-analyses (bijv. Bowler e.a. 2010) blijft overeind dat menig effect al wel met zeker-heid is aangetoond of er voldoende aanwijzingen zijn om hier optimistisch over te zijn...'). Echter, in een recentere review beschouwen Gascon e.a. (2015) het bewijs voor zowel kinderen als volwassenen die in de omgeving van groen wonen en effecten op psychische stoornissen als beperkt wegens verschillende meetmethodes (bijv. in/ exclusie privétuinen, afstand van groen tot de woning, verhouding groene oppervlakte/totale oppervlakte omge-ving). Ook het bewijs van een causale relatie tussen de gemeten afstand tot een openbaar park en de woning en mentale stoornissen beschouwden deze auteurs als inade-quaat wegens tegenstrijdige bevindingen; volwassenen met een actieve levensstijl profiteerden hier over het alge-meen wel van. Dit wordt ook bevestigd door epidemiologisch onderzoek in het vk, waar vooral mannen van middelbare leeftijd effect hadden, gemeten met de General Health Questionnaire (afkappunt > 4 voor psychiatrische problemen). Nega-tieve effecten van wonen in een groene en dunbevolkte regio (zoals vereenzaming en gebrek aan beweging) zijn evenzeer mogelijk. Verder is in studies onvoldoende dui-delijk of de gevonden effecten goed te verklaren zijn door zicht op groen, door het niveau van luchtverontreiniging of omgevingslawaai. Uit de beschikbare onderzoeken is zeker nog geen bewijs gevonden voor psychiatrische stoornissen zoals schizofre-nie als het gaat om klinische verbetering door blootstel-ling aan een groene omgeving. Zo zagen Boers e.a. (2018) dat van 623 patiënten die in de periode 2008-2016 in het umc Utrecht waren opgenomen deze in hun buurt minder groene ruimte beschikbaar hadden dan in de algemene AUTEUR PHILIP MICHIELSEN, psychiater en A-opleider GGZ Westelijk Noord-Brabant. CORRESPONDENTIEADRES P.J.S. Michielsen, GGZ WNB, Postbus 371 4600 AJ Bergen op Zoom. Geen strijdige belangen meegedeeld. TITLE IN ENGLISH Reaction on 'Housing, natural light and lighting, greenery and mental health' ingezonden artikel bevolking, maar werd er geen verband gevonden tussen beschikbare groene ruimte en opnameduur. Voor andere stoornissen zoals samenhang of causaal verband met per-soonlijkheidsstoornissen, eetstoornissen, verslaving is nog helemaal geen onderzoek voorhanden. Verder ligt het niet voor de hand om noden van een afde-ling in een academisch centrum psychiatrie linea recta te extrapoleren naar die van een ggz-instelling. Het lijkt in de ontwikkeling van nieuwbouw op een ggz-terrein eer-der noodzakelijk rekening te houden met specifieke doel-groepen die langere tijd opgenomen worden, eventueel in een gedwongen kader, zoals patiënten met een dubbele diagnose, forensische psychiatrie en ernstige psychiatri-sche aandoeningen (epa). In eigen onderzoek vonden wij bij 46 patiënten met epa wel effecten van verhuizing naar een nieuwbouw woon-afdeling op het ggz-terrein op zowel kwaliteit van leven (t =-4,89; p < 0,005) gemeten met de Lanquashire qol, als psychisch functioneren gemeten met de HoNOS (t = 4,56; p < 0,005) (Michielsen & Persijn 2008). De effecten kon-den verklaard worden door meer privacy, autonomie en controle over de omgeving, naast de fysieke kwaliteit van de woning, waarbij reeds in de ontwerpfase van het archi-tectenbureau gekozen werd voor duurzame materialen, goede lichtinval en goede geluidsisolatie. In de context van verblijf op een high intensive careafdeling is er dan weer een spanningsveld tussen tijdelijke afzon-dering van de maatschappij en voorbereiding op de terug-keer. Terwijl patiënten meer belang hechten aan privacy, toegang op de hele afdeling en een huiselijke sfeer (aqua
Bu araştırmanın amacı Türkiye'de orman okulu yaklaşımı üzerine yapılan tezlerin incelenmesidir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Yükseköğretim Kurulu Başkanlığı Ulusal Tez Merkezi veri tabanında bulunan tezler "orman okulu" anahtar kelimesi olacak şekilde taranmıştır. Türkiye'de orman okulu yaklaşımı üzerine Nisan 2020'ye kadar yapılmış 6 tez çalışmasına ulaşılmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden doküman incelemesi kullanılmıştır. Tezlerin incelenmesi sırasında tez çalışmalarının yayımlandığı yıl, yayımlandığı üniversite, çalışma grubu, araştırma grubu, yayımlandığı enstitü ve anabilim dalı, yayın türü, saha araştırmalarının yapıldığı yerler ve araştırma sonuçları inceleme kriteri olarak seçilmiştir. Araştırma sonucuna göre Türkiye'de orman okulu yaklaşımı üzerine yapılan tez çalışmalarının en fazla 2019 yılında yapıldığı, araştırmaların 6 farklı üniversitede yapıldığı, tezlerin araştırma grubunu; okul öncesi öğrencileri, öğretmenleri, velileri ve yöneticileri oluşturduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca incelenen tez çalışmalarında en fazla nitel araştırma yöntemi kullanıldığı, araştırmaların en fazla sosyal bilimler enstitüsü tarafından yayınlandığı, tez çalışmalarının hepsinin yüksek lisans düzeyinde yayınlandığı, tezlerin araştırma sahasının en fazla İstanbul ili olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, Türkiye'de orman okulu yaklaşımı üzerine yapılan tez çalışmalarının sayısal olarak yetersiz olduğu söylenebilir. Bu alanda akademik çalışmalarının sayısının arttırılabilmesi için üniversitelerin ilgili bölümlerindeki lisansüstü öğrencilerin ve akademik personellerin araştırmaya yönlendirilmesi önerilebilir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Orman okulu, Orman okulu yaklaşımı, Tez inceleme, Tez tarama.
This study investigates the interconnectivity between art and ecology within a Forest School model. The success of outdoor programming, like Forest Schools, suggests that other outdoor curriculum art-based environmental education could provide valuable learning experiences. Within this article, the author dispels myths surrounding a romanticized connection between children, nature and artmaking. The findings revealed that the symbiotic relationship between art and ecology within the Forest School model empowered the children in three distinct ways: (1) they became scientists/artists, (2) they made discoveries through collaborative efforts and (3) they infused art and science as they shared sketches and explored their environment.
Research using a refinement of existing measures of mood, the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL), is reviewed. A factor analysis (N = 388), using a validated criterion for assessing the number of factors to be extracted, confirmed that the UMACL measures dimensions of energetic arousal, tense arousal and hedonic tone. Psychometric properties of UMACL scales were satisfactory. Discriminant validity was established by showing that correlations between UMACL scales and demographic and personality variables were small in magnitude, though of theoretical importance. Significant correlations between the arousal scales and psychophysiological measures of autonomic arousal demonstrate concurrent validity. A series of studies shows that the UMACL scales are sensitive to external ‘stressors’. Specific influences on each of the three principal scales have been found. Certain stressors appear to evoke a more general stress syndrome associated with reduced energetic arousal and hedonic tone, and increased tense arousal.
Attention Restoration Theory suggests that contact with nature supports attentional functioning, and a number of studies have found contact with everyday nature to be related to attention in adults. Is contact with everyday nature also related to the attentional functioning of children? This question was addressed through a study focusing on children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). This study examined the relationship between children’s nature exposure through leisure activities and their attentional functioning using both within and between-subjects comparisons. Parents were surveyed regarding their child’s attentional functioning after activities in several settings. Results indicate that children function better than usual after activities in green settings and that the “greener” a child’s play area, the less severe his or her attention deficit symptoms. Thus, contact with nature may support attentional functioning in a population of children who desperately need attentional support.
Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in "greener" surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building's surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in “greener” surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building’s surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
Identifying mechanisms that buffer children from life's stress and adversity is an important empirical and practical concern. This study focuses on nature as a buffer of life stress among rural children. To examine whether vegetation near the residential environment might buffer or moderate the impact of stressful life events on children's psychological well-being, data were collected from 337 rural children in Grades 3 through 5 (mean age=9.2 years). Dependent variables include a standard parent-reported measure of children's psychological distress and children's own ratings of global self-worth. In a rural setting, levels of nearby nature moderate the impact of stressful life events on the psychological well-being of children. Specifically, the impact of life stress was lower among children with high levels of nearby nature than among those with little nearby nature. Implications of these finding are discussed with respect to our understanding of resilience and protective mechanisms.
S. Kaplan suggested that one outcome of mental fatigue may be an increased propensity for outbursts of anger and even violence. If so, contact with nature, which appears to mitigate mental fatigue, may reduce aggression and violence. This study investigated that possibility in a setting and population with relatively high rates of aggression: inner-city urban public housing residents. Levels of aggression were compared for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with varying levels of nearby nature (trees and grass). Attentional functioning was assessed as an index of mental fatigue. Residents living in relatively barren buildings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in greener buildings. Moreover, levels of mental fatigue were higher in barren buildings, and aggression accompanied mental fatigue. Tests for the proposed mechanism and for alternative mechanisms indicated that the relationship between nearby nature and aggression was fully mediated through attentional functioning.
The personal project is proposed as a new unit of analysis for the study of personality in its social, physical and temporal context. A sequential model of personal projects is proposed in which the major stages of project inception, planning, action, and termination are described in detail and related to dimensions of individual differences. A new methodology for assessing personal project content and structure is introduced, including techniques for assessing interproject impact and linkages with values and actions. The relevance of a projectanalytic approach to recent issues in environmental psychology is discussed. It is proposed that personal projects methodology might serve as a coupling device between the fields of personality and environmental psychology.
Examined whether the presence of nearby nature might lend urban public housing residents the psychological resources to grapple with the challenges facing them. More specifically, it examines whether natural elements in the public housing outdoor environment—trees and grass—can assist in restoring the very psychological resources likely to be depleted in the struggle against poverty. In 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with and without nearby nature, attentional functioning and effectiveness in managing major life issues were compared. Residents living in buildings without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble, and more longstanding than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings. Mediation tests and extensive tests for possible confounds supported the attention restoration hypothesis—that green space enhances residents' effectiveness by reducing mental fatigue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Argues that evolutionary heritage underlies humans' consistent preference for stimuli from the natural environment and that research on affective and aesthetic responses is needed to understand human interaction with the environment. It is noted that the rapidly expanding empirical record concerning aesthetic and affective responses to natural environments is in need of a well-developed theoretical foundation. An integrated conceptual framework to address this theoretical lack, drawing on recent theory and research on emotion, is proposed. This framework explains how affects arise in the natural environment; postulates their functions; and links them to cognition, activity in physiological systems, and behavior. The present author, in developing the framework, questions the view that feelings result from cognitive processes, asserting that feelings (not thoughts) are the initial response in environmental encounters. The observer's initial feeling reaction shapes subsequent cognitive events. The relative sequence of feeling and thinking in environmental encounters represents a fundamental issue in understanding human interaction with the environment. (98 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
We compare people greatly affected by a crisis with those less affected to explore how level of crisis influences their response to experiencing nature. A questionnaire comprising a validated protocol to evaluate frequency of stress conditions, the level of crisis retention, reorientation and rehabilitation potential was answered by 547 individuals. The questionnaire also comprises items on everyday activities. Our findings may be interpreted as follows: experiencing nature has a more powerful influence on the rehabilitation potential of people greatly affected by a crisis; taking a walk also has an influence, although not of equal importance; the social factor has more influence on the rehabilitation potential of people affected by a crisis to a low/moderate degree. Individuals who have many experiences of nature are less affected by their crisis than are those who have few such experiences. We suggest that the rehabilitative effect of nature is tied to its function as an enriched environment. During stays in natural settings, an interaction takes place between sensory stimulation, emotions and logical thought—an interaction that leads to a new orientation and new ways of seeing one's self and one's resources. This seems to largely be a question of how we human beings take in and process information.
Although studied extensively in depressed populations, the implications of goal appraisals for bipolar disorder are not well understood. Four hundred sixty-four college students completed questionnaires measuring personal goal appraisals (a modified version of B. R. Little's, 1989, Personal Projects Analysis), history of bipolar disorder symptoms, and current symptoms of hypomania and depression. Participants endorsing hypomania symptoms or current positive affect tended to construe goals in a positive manner, as likely to be attained, enjoyable, controllable, and not difficult or stressful. A history of clinically significant hypomania symptoms, however, correlated with negative, pessimistic goal appraisals. This relationship could be explained in a mediational model by higher current depression among those with previous hypomania/mania. Discussion highlights the potential of studying bipolar disorder from a goal theoretical perspective.
Attention Restoration Theory (ART) proposes that effortful directed attention can become fatigued in modern urban environments. Restoration can occur in a setting that evokes fascination (effortless attention). Ordinary natural settings evoke soft fascination, that is, moderate fascination accompanied by esthetic pleasure. Such settings enable a fully restorative experience, including the recovery of directed attention and the opportunity for serious reflection. Settings broadly classified as sports/entertainment are more likely to evoke hard fascination, that is, very high levels of fascination that fill the mind. Such settings permit directed attention recovery but afford little opportunity for reflection. We tested these ideas by having participants rate the perceived restorative effectiveness of three kinds of settings (ordinary natural, sports/entertainment, and everyday urban) under two goal-set conditions (as places for attentional recovery or for reflection). Ordinary natural settings were seen as having the highest overall restorative effectiveness, everyday urban settings as having the lowest, and sports/entertainment settings as in between. Moreover, sports/entertainment settings were seen as higher in restorative effectiveness for the attentional-recovery goal set than for the reflection goal set. No such goal-set difference occurred for the other two setting categories combined. These results are in agreement with the predictions of ART.
Children growing up in the inner city are at risk of academic underachievement, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, and other important negative outcomes. Avoiding these outcomes requires self-discipline. Self-discipline, in turn, may draw on directed attention, a limited resource that can be renewed through contact with nature. This study examined the relationship between near-home nature and three forms of self-discipline in 169 inner city girls and boys randomly assigned to 12 architecturally identical high-rise buildings with varying levels of nearby nature. Parent ratings of the naturalness of the view from home were used to predict children's performance on tests of concentration, impulse inhibition, and delay of gratification. Regressions indicated that, on average, the more natural a girl's view from home, the better her performance at each of these forms of self-discipline. For girls, view accounted for 20% of the variance in scores on the combined self-discipline index. For boys, who typically spend less time playing in and around their homes, view from home showed no relationship to performance on any measure. These findings suggest that, for girls, green space immediately outside the home can help them lead more effective, self-disciplined lives. For boys, perhaps more distant green spaces are equally important.
Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation. Hypotheses regarding emotional, attentional and physiological aspects of stress reducing influences of nature are derived from a psycho-evolutionary theory. To investigate these hypotheses, 120 subjects first viewed a stressful movie, and then were exposed to color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings. Data concerning stress recovery during the environmental presentations were obtained from self-ratings of affective states and a battery of physiological measures: heart period, muscle tension, skin conductance and pulse transit time, a non-invasive measure that correlates with systolic blood pressure. Findings from the physiological and verbal measures converged to indicate that recovery was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. There were directional differences in cardiac responses to the natural vs urban settings, suggesting that attention/intake was higher during the natural exposures. However, both the stressor film and the nature settings elicited high levels of involuntary or automatic attention, which contradicts the notion that restorative influences of nature stem from involuntary attention or fascination. Findings were consistent with the predictions of the psycho-evolutionary theory that restorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake. Content differences in terms of natural vs human-made properties appeared decisive in accounting for the differences in recuperation and perceptual intake.
In the general population, attention is reliably enhanced after exposure to certain physical environments, particularly natural environments. This study examined the impacts of environments on attention in children with ADHD.
In this within subjects design, each participant experienced each of three treatments (environments) in single blind controlled trials. Seventeen children 7 to 12 years old professionally diagnosed with ADHD experienced each of three environments-a city park and two other well-kept urban settings-via individually guided 20-minute walks. Environments were experienced 1 week apart, with randomized assignment to treatment order. After each walk, concentration was measured using Digit Span Backwards.
Children with ADHD concentrated better after the walk in the park than after the downtown walk (p = .0229) or the neighborhood walk (p = .0072). Effect sizes were substantial (Cohen's d =.52 and .77, respectively) and comparable to those reported for recent formulations of methylphenidate.
Twenty minutes in a park setting was sufficient to elevate attention performance relative to the same amount of time in other settings. These findings indicate that environments can enhance attention not only in the general population but also in ADHD populations. "Doses of nature" might serve as a safe, inexpensive, widely accessible new tool in the tool kit for managing ADHD symptoms.
We examined the impact of relatively "green" or natural settings on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms across diverse subpopulations of children.
Parents nationwide rated the aftereffects of 49 common after-school and weekend activities on children's symptoms. Aftereffects were compared for activities conducted in green outdoor settings versus those conducted in both built outdoor and indoor settings.
In this national, nonprobability sample, green outdoor activities reduced symptoms significantly more than did activities conducted in other settings, even when activities were matched across settings. Findings were consistent across age, gender, and income groups; community types; geographic regions; and diagnoses.
Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case characteristics.
We know that children need nature … or do we? There are certainly many reasons to think that nature plays an important role in child development. For many of us, intuition emphatically asserts that nature is good for children. We hold intuitions such as, ‘every kid needs a dog’, ‘children need a nice yard to play in’, and ‘children need “fresh air”’. Beyond these intuitions, there are also well-reasoned theoretical arguments as to why humans in general – and therefore children – might have an inborn need for contact with nature (e.g., S. Kaplan, 1995; Wilson, 1984). And there is a growing body of qualitative research consistent with this idea (Bardill, 1997; Hart, 1979; R. Moore, 1989; R. C. Moore, 1986; Nabhan, 1994; Sebba, 1991; Sobel, 1993; Titman, 1994). But what do we really know about the value of nature in promoting child development? What systematic evidence is there for or against this possibility? Is children's need for nature established fact, yet-to-be-substantiated folk theory, or simply myth? The question of nature's role in healthy child development is increasingly urgent. A consistent concern among the researchers studying children and nature is that children's access to nature is rapidly diminishing (e.g., Kahn, 2002; Kellert, 2002; Pyle, 2002; Rivkin, 2000). Not only may there be less nature for children to access, but children's access of what remains may be increasingly sporadic.
I want to discuss the circumstances that prompted the development of personal projects analysis as a line of inquiry and how these influences shaped this book. What follows, therefore, is a highly selective recounting of the generative contexts that shaped the development of personal projects analysis and consequently this volume. The chapter is in two sections. The opening section is an idiosyncratic account of the roots of the personal projects perspective in which I revisit the scholarly settings and generative contexts that stimulated its core concepts. The second section gathers up these cumulative concepts and gives them a more formal treatment. I give particular attention to an enduring theme throughout my work over the years and developed again in many of the following chapters--how personal projects play a pivotal role in human well-being and flourishing. I also note briefly the similarities and differences between personal projects and related units of analysis in personality and developmental science and other areas of research and practice. Finally, I stand back and, from a more synoptic vantage point, discern some patterns that have become clearer as the projects perspective has been adopted and adapted by others. In conclusion, I suggest some consequences that this still moving image has both for the study of lives and for attempts to enhance their vitality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The nearby natural environment plays a far more significant role in the well-being of children residing in poor urban environments than has previously been recognized. Using a premove/postmove longitudinal design, this research explores the linkage between the naturalness or restorativeness of the home environment and the cognitive functioning of 17 low-income urban children (aged 7–12 yrs). Both before and after relocation, objective measures of naturalness were used along with a standardized instrument (the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale) measuring the children's cognitive functioning. Results show that children whose homes improved the most in terms of greenness following relocation also tended to have the highest levels of cognitive functioning following the move. The implications with respect to policy and design are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two studies examined the role of goal imagery (i.e., the perception-like mental representation of the pursuit and attainment of a goal) in establishing congruence between individuals' implicit motives and their incli-nation to pursue explicit goals assigned to them. Study 1 found that after a goal-imagery exercise, implicit needs for power and affiliation predicted par-ticipants' affective arousal and their commitment to a social-interaction goal furnished with power-and affiliation-related incentives. In Study 2, implicit power motivation predicted the level of performance participants achieved in pursuit of a competitive performance goal after a goal-imagery exercise. Without goal imagery, however, participants' motivation to pursue an explicit goal was independent of their implicit motive dispositions in both studies. be sent via the Internet to oschultheiss@hotmail.com.
The restorative potential of green outdoor environments for children in preschool settings was investigated by measuring the attention of children playing in settings with different environmental features. Eleven preschools with outdoor environments typical for the Stockholm area were assessed using the outdoor play environment categories (OPEC) and the fraction of visible sky from play structures (sky view factor), and 198 children, aged 4.5–6.5 years, were rated by the staff for inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive behaviors with the ECADDES tool. Children playing in large and integrated outdoor areas containing large areas of trees, shrubbery and a hilly terrain showed less often behaviors of inattention (p<.05). The choice of tool for assessment of attention is discussed in relation to outdoor stay and play characteristics in Swedish preschool settings. The results indicate that the restorative potential of green outdoor environments applies also to preschool children and that environmental assessment tools as OPEC can be useful when to locate and develop health-promoting land adjacent to preschools.
Directed attention plays an important role in human information processing; its fatigue, in turn, has far-reaching consequences. Attention Restoration Theory provides an analysis of the kinds of experiences that lead to recovery from such fatigue. Natural environments turn out to be particularly rich in the characteristics necessary for restorative experiences. An integrative framework is proposed that places both directed attention and stress in the larger context of human-environment relationships.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the research and theory concerning the potential influences of environmental perception on health and well-being. There is an evident distinction between urban and natural environments in the literature on visual preferences for environments, and in the literature about the restorative influences of environments. People generally prefer natural environments, and believe them to be healthy or restorative. This distinction between natural and urban environments is used as a point of departure to examine evolutionary theories of environmental aesthetics expounded by Kaplan, Kaplan and Ulrich. The major distinction between the theories is Ulrich's assertion of affective primacy in the processing of environmental information. Ulrich's assertion is shown to be consistent with LeDoux's model of subcortical affective processing, and Henry's model of neuro-endocrine responses, both of which in turn support the tentative proposal of two types of affect initiation systems with separate time courses and implications for the health effects of environmental exposures.
Affect is considered by most contemporary theories to be postcognitive,
that is, to occur only after considerable cognitive operations have
been accomplished. Yet a number of experimental results on preferences,
attitudes, impression formation, and decision making, as well as
some clinical phenomena, suggest that affective judgments may be
fairly independent of, and precede in time, the sorts of perceptual
and cognitive operations commonly assumed to be the basis of these
affective judgments. Affective reactions to stimuli are often the
very first reactions of the organism, and for lower organisms they
are the dominant reactions. Affective reactions can occur without
extensive perceptual and cognitive encoding, are made with greater
confidence than cognitive judgments, and can be made sooner. Experimental
evidence is presented demonstrating that reliable affective discriminations
(likedislike ratings) can be made in the total absence of recognition
memory (oldnew judgments). Various differences between judgments
based on affect and those based on perceptual and cognitive processes
are examined. It is concluded that affect and cognition are under
the control of separate and partially independent systems that can
influence each other in a variety of ways, and that both constitute
independent sources of effects in information processing. (139 ref)
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
People differ in their potential for psychological restoration but there is little evidence on the role of varying mental health state or settings in the process. This paper reports two quasi-experiments which compare the restorative benefits of walking in urban and rural settings in two groups of adults with good and poor mental health. Two aspects of restoration are examined, firstly mood, the other using personal project techniques (Little, 1983) to capture an under-explored aspect of cognitive restoration through reflection on everyday life tasks. Results are consistent with a restorative effect of landscape: the rural walk was advantageous to affective and cognitive restoration in both health groups when compared to an urban walk. However, beneficial change took place to a greater extent in the poor health group. Differential outcomes between health groups were found in the urban setting, which was most advantageous to restoration in the poor mental health group. This study extends restorative environments research by showing that the amount of change and context for restoration can differ amongst adults with variable mental health.
In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in mental health problems amongst young adults in the UK, prompting the British Government to seek to identify services and preventative measures to combat the problem. At the same time, the policy agenda around woodland has shifted away from the agro-forestry agenda that dominated much of the late 20th century toward the development of 'social forestry', defined in terms of multi-purpose, multi-benefit woodland that can contribute to an enhanced quality of life and well-being. Against this background of change and policy response, this paper examines the extent to which childhood experiences of play--particularly in wooded landscapes--may influence access to woodland in young adulthood, and the potential implications for their health and mental well-being. Engaging with notions of restoration and therapeutic landscapes literatures, the paper maintains that we cannot accept uncritically the notion that the natural environment is therapeutic. Indeed, from this paper it is clear that a range of influences acts to shape young people's relationship with woodland environments, but not all of these influences do so in positive ways.
Understanding the links between anger expression by children and adolescents, their health, and their interpersonal interactions is important given the evidence that anger is associated with maladjustment and illness among adults. This review covers: 1) possible origins of the awareness and expression of anger; 2) assessment of anger in children and adolescents, including both self-report and observational approaches; 3) implications of anger expression for interpersonal relationships; and 4) outcomes of anger expression. Dimensions of anger expression found in adults have been corroborated to some extent in child and adolescent data. Reliable and valid measures of these dimensions have been developed. There has been much less research on the correlates of maladaptive anger expression in children or adolescents than in adults. Nevertheless, the current data base provides some confirmation that youth who cope inappropriately with their anger are at risk for problematic interpersonal relationships and negative outcomes in terms of both mental and general health.
The study was based on the answers to a mailed questionnaire of a simple random sample of respondents from two cities (Helsinki, Tampere) in Finland. Ten determinants of restorative experiences in favorite places (<or = 15 km from home; n=1089) were effective. These determinants included "immediate" use of the favorite place (duration and frequency), personal background of nature experiences (nature orientedness, nature hobbies, childhood nature experiences), and situational factors in life, which were related to stress (hassles at work and with money, satisfaction with life) and to social relations (uplifts of social relations, visiting alone vs. in company). Different variables were associated with restorative experiences in different favorite settings (extensively managed nature areas, built-up green spaces, waterside environments, exercise and activity/hobby areas, and indoor and outdoor urban areas). The concept of "favorite place prescriptions" is introduced as an analogy to "exercise prescriptions" in primary healthcare.
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