The concept of affordances, as used in the academic literature on children and the environment, usually refers to opportunities offered by the environment for various activities. While some researchers may describe affordances as “available resources”, others hold a more relational view of affordances. The relational view considers children “as active and influential participants in their own life-worlds.” This study applied the relational approach to affordances in an investigation focusing on how the greening of daycare yards with biodiverse materials affords well-being, play and environmental relationships. The study also sought to gain a better understanding of teachers', child nurses' and children's role in this process.
The study was conducted in three large cities in Finland with six daycare centers and 13 groups of children (age 3-5) participating. The greening of the daycare yards consisted of adding a forest floor with high biodiversity, sod, peat blocks, and planters for growing vegetables and flowers. One month after the greening process, 13 employees from the different daycare centers completed a survey relating to the children's activities in the modified yards. Survey items also asked about the children's enthusiasm and contact with greenery and changes occurring in the daycare center. Twelve daycare employees also participated in individual or group interviews focusing on changes that took place after greening the yards. Forty-nine parents provided additional information by completing surveys relating to the children's responses to the greening of the daycare yard.
Almost all of the daycare employees indicated that the children were excited about the green yards and spent a lot of time in contact with the nature-related materials added to the yard. Their responses also indicated that the green materials enabled various functional affordances organized around six themes: physical activity, multi-sensory experiences, diverse play, art and crafts, nature exploration, and pre-academic skills. The green, biodiverse yards were considered safe, offered diverse learning situations, and promoted the development of environmental relationships. Teachers and child nurses also found ways to use the green yard as a “new useful working tool” in promoting pedagogic goals of early childhood education.
This research adds to the literature on the greening of school yards by demonstrating that including natural elements rich in biodiversity is a safe and health-promoting way to provide rich opportunities for young children's creative play and learning. The results are consistent with the relational view of affordances, in that the natural elements added to the yard (forest floor vegetation, sticks, pinecones, etc.) inspired children to explore and manipulate loose parts in imaginative ways
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