Why this matters
Children who feel close to nature and play outdoors are more likely to care for the environment later. But simply putting children in nature does not always build that bond. Educators need to know whether a residential program actually makes a difference.
What the researchers did
The researchers surveyed two groups at the same points in time:
- Students who attended: 156 fifth graders from three schools in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, surveyed four days before and three weeks after Shaver's Creek Outdoor School.
- A comparison group: 72 fifth graders from nearby counties who did not attend.
The surveys asked about four things:
- how connected children felt to nature
- how much they liked being in nature
- whether they would rather play outside than inside
- how often they had played or explored outside in the past week
The program: students sleep in cabins with a counselor. Days include outdoor lessons on topics such as water cycles and animal adaptations, a stream study, and a pretend town meeting where students play both people and animals. Meals aim to be waste free. There is also free time to explore before dinner, and campfires.
What they found
- Children felt more connected to nature. Students who attended felt more at one with nature three weeks after the program. Students who did not attend showed no change. The increase was modest.
- Children played outside more. Students who attended reported more outdoor play and exploring in natural areas in the weeks after the program. The comparison group did not change.
- Liking for nature and outdoor play didn't move. Attendees' good feelings about nature and their preference for outdoor play stayed the same. Both were already very high before the trip, at about 6.4 and 5.8 out of 7, which left little room to grow.
The study could not tell which parts of the program led to these changes.
What this means for your practice
The ideas below are the researchers' suggestions about what may have helped. The study did not test them one by one.
- Protect free time outdoors. The researchers suggest that built-in free play, alongside lessons, may have helped children connect with nature and play outside more. Resist filling every hour.
- Use staff as mentors. Counselors lived with students and gave them personal attention. The researchers point to this mentoring as one likely contributor.
- Stay more than one night. The researchers also name spending several nights outdoors as a possible ingredient.
- Use places children can relate to home. Most attendees lived near the program site. The researchers suggest this may help children recognize the same natural features in their own backyards.
- Add activities that build feelings for nature. The researchers recommend more activities that strengthen emotional ties to nature, such as those that build empathy with wildlife.
- Measure what you hope to change. If nature connection and outdoor play are your goals, survey them before and after your program. Expect little change on anything children already rate highly.
RETURN TO RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION EERESEARCH COLLECTION
The Bottom Line
The researchers surveyed fifth graders before and after a residential outdoor school and compared them with similar students who did not attend. Children who attended felt more connected to nature three weeks later. They also reported spending more time playing and exploring outside. The comparison group showed no change on either measure. The program did not raise children's liking for nature or their preference for outdoor play, but both were already very high before the trip. For educators, the results suggest that a few days of living and learning outdoors can strengthen children's bond with nature and get them outside more once they are home.