Into the Forest and Field

Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education

April 26, 2008

Louise Chawla

How Environmental Education Can Promote Care for the Natural World, Children’s

Well-being, & Academic Success

. . . “The ultimate goal of environmental education is the maintenance of a varied, beautiful, and resource-rich planet for future generations. It follows from this that the penultimate goal of environmental education, especially in a democracy like ours, must be the creation of an informed citizenry which will work actively toward this ultimate goal.”

Tom Tanner, 1980

Special places in nature

Primary childhood sources of adult actions to protect the natural world

Special people who encourage exploration and play in the natural world

Photo by Mary Rivkin

Photo by Mary Rivkin

Photo by Illene Pevec

Formative role

models

communicate

“a contagious

attitude of

attentiveness.

” Photo by Mardi Solomon

Connecting children with nature

not only has long-term potential

benefits for nature. It has

immediate benefits for children’s

health and well-being.

In a Norwegian study, children who

played in the woods around their

school made significantly more rapid

gains on tests of balance, agility,

strength and coordination than

comparable students who played in

a traditional playground.Fjortoft, 2001

In a Swedish study, young children

whose playground contained a field

and an orchard performed better on

several measures than others who

only had access to a traditional

playground:

o Better balance and agility

o Better concentration

o More varied and elaborated patterns of play

o Fewer conflicts between children

o Fewer days of absence due to illnessGrahn, Martensson, Lindblad, Nilsson & Ekman, 1997

In observations of young children’s

play, children in areas with trees and

vegetation show more creative social

play than children in hard surfaced or

built play areas, and some studies

show more balanced gender groups.Faber Taylor, Wiley, Kuo & Sullivan, 1998;

Grahn et al., 1997; Kirkby, 1989

Children with ADD and ADHD

concentrate, complete tasks and

follow directions better after they

play outside in green settings,

and the greener the settings, the

more improvement they show.

Faber Taylor, Kuo & Sullivan, 2001 Kuo & Faber Taylor, 2004

Children with ADD showed

significantly better concentration

after a walk through a park

compared to a walk along a

pleasant but built street.

Faber Taylor, Landscapes & Human Health Laboratory,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,

unpublished study

In a study of 7 to 12 year olds who

moved from rundown urban housing to

better homes in better neighborhoods,

the best predictor of whether children

would show the highest levels of

concentration following the move . . . .

. . . was not the overall quality

of their new home, but its

amount of improvement in

terms of more natural views and

yards.

Wells, 2000

Among rural 8 to 11 year olds,

those with higher levels of nature

around their homes coped better

with stressful life events, according

to their parents’ reports and their

own self-reports.

Wells & Evans, 2003

This protective effect of nearby

nature was strongest for the

children who experienced the

highest levels of stressful

events.

When Finnish adolescents wrote

about places where they went after

upsetting events, they said that they

often sought out natural areas. There

they could relax, clear their minds,

and gain perspective on things.

Korpela, 1992

Robert Taylor Homes, Chicago

People gathered more in public

spaces with more trees, and in

these spaces children played

more creatively and had more

positive interactions with adults.

Faber Taylor, Wiley, Kuo & Sullivan, 1998

Girls with green views from their

apartments showed better

functioning in terms of focused

attention, less impulsivity, and the

ability to delay gratification.

Faber Taylor, Kuo & Sullivan, 2002

In urban areas across the world, children identify safe natural areas as important characteristics of a good community in which to grow up.

Chawla, 2002

Exposure to nature benefits adults

as well as children . . . which can

be expected to create better

conditions for children in their care.

Among adults, access to gardens, parks, trees or green space has been associated with:

• reduced blood pressure

• reduced stress

• greater emotional well-being

• better concentration & problem-solving

• more rapid healing after surgery

• greater work satisfaction & productivity

In Robert Taylor Homes, adult residents with vegetation around their buildings showed:

o Significantly better performance at cognitive

tasks that required close attention

o Better conflict management and less aggression in the family

o Stronger social ties with their neighbors

o A greater sense of safety and security

o A stronger sense of community

Police records showed less violence and crime in the public housing areas with vegetation.

According to surveys of 339 people in Scotland and 459 people in England, people who routinely played outside in natural areas as children are much more likely to visit green spaces or wooded areas as adults.

Thompson, Catharine Ward, Aspinall, Peter & Montarzino, Alicia. 2007. The childhood factor: Adult visits to green places and the significance of childhood experiences. Environment & Behavior.

Continuing benefits of childhood play in nature

When adults remember experiences

of a sense of harmony with nature in

childhood, the most frequent benefit

that they attribute to these

experiences is a fund of calm that

they can draw upon in later life.

Chawla, 1990; Hoffman, 1992; Robinson, 1983

What is special about engagement with nature, that may explain these benefits?

Photo by Reba Rye

For children, nothing matches nature’s “loose parts” for creative possibilities—and as children play in nature, they are discovering the material of life on which human existence depends.

Photo by Louise Chawla

Photo by Roger Hart

The natural world is a place for creative social play in a world that is always new. . .

. . . and a world of graduated challenges

Photo by Louise Chawla

In a world of attention-deficit

disorder, how can we connect

children with nature?

Beieren,Germany

landscaping for nature play

Dutch natureschoolyard

Learning ThroughLandscapes schoolyard, England

schoolyard, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

schoolyardOberdahlhausen,Germany

Include the basics—water

Dutch schoolyardsand parks

earth

sand

plants

hut building

animals

eating what yougrow

landscapingaroundFreiburg homes,Germany

Don’t forget how you get there ….

Photo © Chicago Zoological Society

Hamill Family Play Zoo, Brookfield ZooPhoto © Chicago Zoological Society

Schools can become sites for

connecting children with nature,

through schoolyard gardens and

habitats and place-based

education.

Second graders planting a butterfly garden in Malden, MAPhoto by Kim Kezer

Learning Landscape Initiative, DenverPhoto by Bambi Yost

Place-based education

explores the local

community, uses the

environment as an

integrating context

across disciplines,

involves team

teaching, and

accommodates

individual student

abilities and skills. Heritage questPhoto by Michael Duffin

PBE is associated with a number of student gains.

Making tree ring rubbings, Louisville, KYPhoto by Louise Chawla

Studies of students in schools and classrooms that use place-based education have found higher scores on standardized tests in a number of subjects, including reading, writing, math, science and social studies.

Lieberman & Hoody 1998; Bartosh 2003; SEER 2000; NEETF 2000

Other student gains found by these studies include:

• Improvement in their G.P.A.

• Longer retention in school

• Higher than average scholarship awards

• Increased pride in their accomplishments

• Greater engagement and enthusiasm for learning

In a Florida study of 400 ninth & twelfth graders in 11 schools, students in place-based education classes scored significantly higher on critical thinking skills.

Ernst & Monroe 2004Photo by Louise Chawla

In interviews, teachers in this study said that place-based education requires students to integrate multiple disciplines, formulate and test hypotheses, investigate issues, take responsibility for their own learning, reflect on what they learn, and connect their learning to their communities.

In the same Florida study, students in the place-based education classes showed significantly greater achievement motivation, which is associated with

greater engage-ment with schoolwork.

Athman & Monroe 2004

Photo by Louise Chawla

Jamaica Pond, BostonPhoto by Kim Kezer

The more that students are exposed to place-based education, the more they report attachment to place, time spent outdoors, civic engagement, & environmental stewardship.

Duffin et al. 2004

Students in place-based education also exhibit reduced discipline and classroom management problems, better attendance, and more responsible behavior in their school and their community.

Falco 2004, Lieberman & Hoody 1998, SEER 2000, Bartosh 2003

spring river trip, Hinsdale, NH

Photo by Polly Chandler

This educational approach has been found to transform school cultures in a way that quickly assimilates new teachers into its practice. Buy-in by key school administrators is key.

Haley Elementary, Roslindale, MA

“I think the mentality is really part of our identity. It is who we are.”

“They [veteran teachers] sweep these new people up and into the theme, the culture of the school.”

Teachers in PEEC (Place-based Education Evaluation Collaborative), representing nearly 100 schools in 12 states (Duffin & PEER Associates, 2007)

Share this data with parents,

principals and other key decision-

makers and get students outdoors!

Recommended resources:

The Nature Literacy Series of The Orion Society (www.orionsociety.org), including:Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Learning, by Claire Walker Leslie, John Tallmadge, and Tom Wessels

Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, 2nd ed.by David Sobel

Also www.PEECworks.orgwww.PromiseOfPlace.org

All images of European landscaping for children’s nature play come from:

Leufgen, Willy & van Lier, Marianne. 2007.Vrijspel voor natuur en kinderen. Utrecht: Uitgeverij Jan van Arkel.

www.antenna.nl/i-booksi-books@antenna.nl

For a review of research on significant life experiences:

Louise Chawla (2007)Childhood experiences associated with care for the natural world, Children, Youth and Environments 17(4), 144-170.

www.colorado.edu/journals/cye