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Wild Child, Civilized Scholar
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New studies show children who spend free time outdoors are reaping the
educational benefits. |
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| Does frolicking among the trees and playing in mud do more than
create dirty laundry for mom and dad? New studies say yes, citing a
wealth of evidence that shows getting in touch with nature activates
young minds. |
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| It’s easy to get behind the philosophy that time spent outdoors is
good for kids. Fresh air, exercise, and the chance to explore are all
important for growing children - in ways that go far beyond what we
ever previously thought, research suggests. |
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| Merely by having free time outside, children are experiencing a
multitude of emotional and cognitive benefits as compared to kids who
don’t spend time outdoors, including increased concentration in school,
better test scores, decreased incidents of depression, anxiety and
stress. |
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| Could these positive benefits be a result of the exercise kids get
when outside, and not necessarily linked with nature? According to
researchers at the University of Michigan, not likely. Their findings,
published in the journal of Psychological Science, indicate that after
going for a walk around the University’s urban campus, study
participants showed no improvements in memory or attention – but those
participants that took their walk in a local arboretum displayed a 20%
improvement. |
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| The researchers’ theory is that a natural environment that
stimulates your senses (the sound of wind rustling the leaves of trees,
different terrains underfoot, plants to look at, and wind on your face)
activates your ‘involuntary attention.’ This is what is taking place
when something captures your attention simply because you find it
interesting. Contrast this to your ‘direct attention’ – that’s what
your using when you concentrate on a task because you need to, say for
something at work or school. By capturing your involuntary attention,
natural stimuli give your ‘direct attention’ a much needed break –
allowing you to return to work later feeling rejuvenated and better
able to concentrate. In this study, nature was the key element driving
improved cognitive abilities. |
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| These findings demonstrate how merely spending time in nature can
be good for the mind – but what about when children regularly get to
play outdoors? For one, the freedom and lack of structure seems to
encourage creativity; sticks and moss combined with a puddle, stones,
and maybe a few insects can become fascinating playthings in the hands
of children. With natural materials and open landscapes, the
possibilities in a child’s imagination are endless – this falls in
sharp contrast to the prepared fantasy worlds found in video games or
the personalities and storylines that come packaged with many popular
dolls and toys. For children, the natural world is a blank canvas that
encourages creativity and imagination – two areas that, when developed,
prove advantageous in many facets of education and development. |
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| There are two other components of outdoor learning that are
important to mention. One, that children generally receive more
exercise as they explore outside – and the benefits of exercise and a
healthy lifestyle should be encouraged in any way possible in our
increasingly sedentary society. And two, that today’s children are our
next generation of environmentalists – early exposure and memorable
experiences in nature are key to instilling a lifelong affiliation with
nature in children- an important building block in developing
environmentally conscious adults. |
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| These findings are coming at a time when many parents are beginning
to re-evaluate previously held beliefs. In recent years, parents’ fears
that outside play made children vulnerable to predators and crime
resulted in limiting play time outside in favour of more “safe” time
indoors. This combined with access to the internet, video games and TV
has resulted in children spending more time indoors than ever before –
with inactivity and childhood obesity being the consequence. This
situation is slowly changing for many families this as they come to the
conclusion that media hype and frenzy has erroneously portrayed the
outdoors as a much more dangerous place than it really is. |
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| Now, organizations all over the world are taking note of the
negative repercussions of a mainly indoor childhood, combined with new
research indicating the benefits of time spend outdoors. Groups such as
the No Child Left Inside Coalition in the United States are working to
bring about awareness regarding the importance of outdoor learning. In
Latin America, OpEPA (Organizacion para la Educacion y Proteccion
Ambiental) aims to reconnect children to the earth and their natural
environment with a goal of linking three types of education;
intellectual, experiential, and emotional. |
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| So how can you help your child reap the benefits of the outdoor
world? There are a multitude of possibilities for children of all ages.
For young kids, you might be interested in investigating
Waldkindergartens, or ‘Wild Kindergartens’, which are based on a
European model of outdoor education. Natural log ‘couches’ are for
napping, snacks are eaten in mossy picnic circles, and fallen trees
provide natural play equipment. Most wild kindergartens have a strong
emphasis on free, unstructured time where children are encouraged to
explore their surroundings and play on their own, with some lessons or
activities directed by teachers. In Waldkindergartens, children dress
for the elements and spend all day outside, rain or shine.
Waldkindergartens have been popular in Europe for decades, with schools
common throughout Germany, where there are 700 such kindergartens, as
well as Austria, Scandinavia, Scotland and the UK. Now the US is
onboard, with the first official Waldkindergarten opening in Portland,
Oregon in 2007. Wild or forest kindergartens have been generating
considerable buzz among Canadian parents – a homegrown program is
surely not too far off. |
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| For older children, programs that encourage outdoor learning are
easy to find throughout the country. Ranger programs at provincial and
national parks are one way for teenagers to get involved. Local
conservation authorities often run afterschool or summer initiatives,
allowing children hands on experience working in nature with a focus on
conservation. Institutions like Northern Edge, in Algonquin Park
(Ontario), provide weeklong outdoor education workshops and courses for
school aged children. Searching “outdoor education” and your province
name on the internet will give you plenty of returns. |
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| Programs such as these provide invaluable educational opportunities
to kids, but it is important to keep in mind the simple message at the
core of the outdoor movement; the importance of unstructured time
outdoors for developing children’s minds. Encouraging children from a
young age to go outside and play freely is a simple and effective way
to give their developing minds and bodies a head start. |
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Resources
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| There is really a wealth of information on outdoor education for
children in Canada – you should have no problem finding relevant
information about programs and initiatives where you live. Here are a
few interesting resources to get you started. |
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| Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, deals with the benefits
nature offers children, arguing that humans don’t just enjoy time spent
in nature – we need it. Recently, children’s pastimes have come to
increasingly focus on dual-sensory activities (TV, the internet,
videogames), with detrimental consequences. Louv pushes for a return to
the multi-sensory offerings of the wilds of nature. |
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| The Children and Nature network is a great place to access current
news and views on the children in nature movement.
http://www.childrenandnature.org |
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| The Dodge Nature Centre is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, but its
website offers a wealth of information on outdoor education for
children. The section about their popular Nature Preschool program
gives excellent information for parent’s interested in learning more
about outdoor schooling philosophy in general.
http://www.dodgenaturecenter.org |
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| The Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, just outside Vancouver, offers a
variety of environmental education programs for tailored for kids from
Kindergarten through High School, as well as events and programs open
for community groups and the general public.
http://www.dnv.org/ecology/index.htm |
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| Parks and People, a funding initiative of Parks Canada together
with Nature Canada, aims to aid local groups across Canada to provide
thousands of Canadian children the opportunity to connect with nature.
The Nature Canada site is a great resource for this and other Canadian
programs.
http://www.naturecanada.ca |
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| In Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources runs the Ontario
Rangers Program (previously called Junior Rangers) for 17 year olds
every summer. As part of the program, participants are trained in
ranger duties his paid summer job trains and places rangers at camps
throughout Algonquin Park.
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Youth/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_163379.html |
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| Alberta also has a Junior Forest Ranger program:
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/BioDiversityStewardship/AlbertaJuniorForestRangers/default.aspx |
