by Branislav Kaleta, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Nature-based education goes by many names, but any classroom activity in nature counts. From sitting down and reading Shakespeare in the school garden to lifting logs and counting the different types of bugs you can find, engaging students in nature as part of the curriculum provides them countless physical, psychological, and academic benefits.
The benefits of implementing nature in classes
Nature-based education is especially impactful for young children. The duration and frequency of time spent in nature during childhood are the two major predictors of closeness to nature, as changes in nature connection in younger children are more likely to be permanent than in older children.
As for the benefits themselves, research has found too many to cover, so let’s divide them into three areas:
Physical
Children spend most of their time at school sitting, so walking around and exploring the natural environment is highly beneficial for their daily physical activity and spatial skills.
Psychological
Students engaging in nature-based education experience lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. It strengthens their connection to nature, leading to increased pro-environmental values and behaviours. Socialising within the natural environment improves their communication and leadership skills, resilience, sense of belonging, community, and responsibility. This way, they have a chance to prove to others and themselves that they are capable. They also experience more positive emotions, higher self-esteem and sense of purpose, and restored memory and attention, leading to improved academic outcomes.
Academic
The combination of the previous physical and psychological benefits leads to improved grades, critical thinking, problem-solving, and math, reading, and writing skills.
Lastly, let’s not forget that all of these benefits are not limited to the students; engaging in nature benefits the teachers as well!
How to implement Nature-Based Education
The best thing about nature-based education is that it is not limited to science classes, as aspects of nature can be applied to any curriculum. It can be as simple as growing a flower, but creating dyes from natural resources for arts class or composing music with the sounds of rocks and branches sounds fun as well. The list goes on, and the possibilities are endless. Ask the students, they might come up with creative ideas you never would’ve thought of!
