Engaging with nature in educational settings can improve students’ well-being for optimal learning experiencesNature offers key benefits for learning, including restored cognition, reduced stress and mental fatigue, and improved well-being. Increasingly, research has explored the impact of engaging with nature during the school day on children’s and adolescents’ well-being. This systematic review examined the effects of school-led nature interventions—such as outdoor learning, nature walks, and green schoolyards—on the mental, physical, and social well-being of children and adolescents. Specifically, the investigated constructs focused on: (1) positive and negative affect, stress reduction, and restoration; (2) physical activity; and (3) social interactions and relationships, and pro-social behavior. The review also considered whether the effects of these interventions vary based on participants’ age and gender.
A systematic search of the existing literature was conducted to identify experimental and quasi-experimental quantitative studies that examined school-led nature interventions on the selected mental, physical, and social well-being outcomes. The review focused solely on experimental and quasi-experimental studies to clarify the causal effects of school-led nature interventions on well-being. To be included in the review, the studies were required to focus on school-age children or adolescents between the ages of five and 19. A range of nature interventions were eligible if they were led by a school, including activities located on or off school grounds. Only peer-reviewed studies published in English were considered for inclusion in the review. No restrictions were placed on publication date or study location. Nineteen studies (from 17 articles) met these criteria and were included in the review. The quality of the included studies was assessed with a standardized tool; six studies were rated as high quality, and 13 studies were rated as moderate quality. The studies were conducted in Europe (14 studies) or the U.S. (5 studies). Research designs utilized by the studies included repeated-measures (8 studies), between-groups (3 studies), and a combination of between-groups and repeated-measures (8 studies). Sample sizes ranged from 21 to 2031 participants. Fourteen studies involved children (age 5–12), one study focused solely on adolescents (age 13–19), and four studies included both children and adolescents. The interventions examined by the studies included green schoolyards, school gardens, and outdoor learning in nature. The duration of the interventions and the methods used to assess well-being outcomes varied across studies.
Mental well-being findings focused on the areas of positive affect, negative affect, and stress reduction and restoration. Positive affect (feelings of contentment, joy, and enthusiasm) was examined by four studies, three of which reported significant improvements in nature conditions. The fourth study reported non-significant changes in positive affect during lessons taught in the school garden when compared to the classroom; however, positive affect increased for students with high emotional difficulties (but not students low in emotional difficulties). Negative affect (feelings of distress, anger, sadness, or nervousness) was examined by one study, which found no significant differences between lessons in a school garden and indoor lessons. Two studies investigated stress reduction or restoration. Of these, one study reported significantly decreased stress (measured by salivary cortisol) among primary school students during outdoor learning in a forest when compared to indoor classrooms. On the other hand, the second study did not detect differences in stress restoration (measured by heart rate and blood pressure) for secondary students when relaxing in school greenspace as compared to an indoor room. Physical activity (PA) was examined by a total of 13 studies. Out of seven studies that examined the effect of outdoor learning in nature on PA, five studies reported significant improvements. Studies also examined the effect of green schoolyards on students’ PA. Four out of six studies documented significant increases, indicating that students at schools with green schoolyards engage in more PA compared to students with traditional schoolyards. Findings related to social well-being focused on relationships and pro‐social behaviors. Three studies examining social relationships and interactions reported significant positive results for students with green schoolyards compared to those with traditional schoolyards. However, all three studies exploring pro-social behaviors during school-led nature interventions found non-significant results. Findings regarding the influence of age on well-being outcomes were mixed, and no consistent trends could be identified. However, some studies called attention to gender-based differences in PA outcomes, which revealed that girls participating in nature interventions had higher PA levels than girls who did not.
According to the authors, this is the first review to investigate the impact of school-led nature interventions on children’s and adolescents’ mental, physical, and social well-being. Although this field of study is still emerging, overall findings suggest that engaging with nature during the school day has the potential to enhance aspects of students’ well-being— especially positive affect, PA, and social relationships and interactions. Research examining school-led nature interventions should continue to explore the outcomes examined by this review as well as other components of well-being. More studies focused on adolescents are also needed to clarify the effects of nature interventions for older students. Nonetheless, findings support the implementation of nature-based interventions to create optimal learning conditions for students. Findings also highlight “the need for school designers and educators to work collaboratively to create a variety of accessible, high-quality greenspaces for young people at school.”
The Bottom Line