Benefits of Nature Education
The benefits of time spent connecting with nature are enormous.
Being in nature helps develop curiosity and creativity, both important in nurturing a life-long love of learning. It builds confidence, resilience, and improves mental, emotional, social and physical health, all backed by research.
Our Professional Development Programme and In-class Resource has been developed from extensive experience in nature education and is backed by converging evidence which states…experiences of nature boost academic learning, personal development, and environmental stewardship (Kuo et al. 2019).
Research tells us that Nature is important to children's development in every major way - intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically (Kellert, 2005)
Being in nature helps develop and improve:
Curiosity
Creativity
Problem solving
Confidence and Self-esteem
Positive mental health
Emotional wellbeing
Social relations and interactions
Physical health and wellbeing
Resilience
Grow a love of nature which translates to manaakitanga (respect, kindness) and kaitiakitanga (care, guardianship) of the natural world.
And so much more
Nature is not only good for health and wellbeing, it also improves children's ability to learn. Even small doses of nature can have profound benefits. The evidence for this comes from hundreds of studies, including experimental research referenced in this section.
Nature improves children’s psychological and physical well-being and that can impact learning. But it also affects how they attend to and engage in the classroom, how much they can concentrate, and how well they get along with teachers and peers (Kuo et al, 2019).
Six ways Nature helps children learn:
restores children’s attention
relives children’s stress
helps children develop more self-discipline
Outdoor instruction makes students more engaged and interested
Time outdoors may increase physical fitness
Nature settings may promote social connection and creativity
And, it’s not just children that benefit from time in nature…
Research tells us that teachers who engaged in an hour or two of outdoor instruction a week had improved job satisfaction and wellbeing (Marchant et al, 2019).
But wait, there’s still more…
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of connecting your students or children with nature, there is lots more to learn in our Nature Education Training course.
Our Professional Development Programme and In-class Resource has been designed especially for the New Zealand curriculum and Te Whariki, linking with learning outcomes in Science, English, The Arts and Health Education. And, to Key Competencies, Values and Te Ao Māori.
You can join the Nature Education Training course online or in-person, find out more here:
Nature Education Training Online Course
Nature Education Training In-Person
I also work with schools one-on-one and with private groups, please contact me for me info