Forest school educators observe connection with nature in young children

Environmental education plays a pivotal role in a child's development of place attachment, an individual's affinity for a particular place in nature, and connection with nature, the individual's personal relationship with nature despite its location. Previous research has shown when children experience and appreciate nature, they will be more likely to care for the environment and adopt pro-environmental behaviors. Further, children can develop a stronger sense of place attachment and connection to nature earlier in life compared to when they are older. However, children face barriers to experiencing nature due to geographic proximity, lack of resources, lack of access to green spaces, and other limitations. Schools in the United Kingdom have acknowledged these barriers, and forest schools have gained momentum as a non-formal method to regularly get young students out in nature. Forest schools are a place-based educational experience for students in wooded areas, where they can play, explore, and learn about the environment. The researcher interviewed forest school educators about the role forest school had on children developing place attachment or connection with nature, if the students return to forest school over time, and the impact of forest school on pro-environmental behaviors in students.

The researcher approached this study in two phases, though deduced their findings based on phase two. In phase one, the researcher conducted ethnographic observations of 71 5- to 11-year-old students at a UK forest school. The observations led the researcher to further define their research questions and informed their decision to broaden the scope of their research. In phase two, the focus of this study, the researcher hosted interviews with 20 forest school educators. Each educator had a minimum of 3 years of experience in the program and had taught more than 20 sessions with primary school students. Of the 20 educators, 5 came from urban areas, 7 from rural regions, and 8 from suburban areas. Further, 13 of these educators worked for independent organizations with forest school programs, 5 worked for educational councils, and 2 worked in formal schools. The interviews lasted about 25 minutes each, and the educators were asked about their experiences and observations from teaching young children at forest school. The interviews were recorded and analyzed for common themes related to children's development in forest school.

The researcher found 17 of the 20 educators discussed how their students developed a relationship with nature or wooded areas, cared for the environment, and demonstrated pro-environmental behaviors. From what was learned from educators in the interviews, the researcher identified a pathway of connecting with nature for children who attend forest school. First, students must overcome their fear of being in nature, especially for those who have not spent time in the woods before. For example, some educators shared that their students came from urban settings and initially saw the woods as a scary place based on fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel. When students overcome their fear of the unknown, they start to relax and have fun at forest school. Second, the children began to identify specific things in the woods, such as certain leaves or species, and could identify them by name. This level of familiarity built confidence in the students. Third, this confidence supported the students developing an affinity for areas and things within the location of their forest school. For instance, educators recalled students saying "my tree face” and "the balancing tree trunk.” Fourth, the students found a sense of ownership in assigning these areas or things as theirs or other students' (e.g., "Ashley's step”). Finally, the researcher concluded children who go through forest school and experience the four previous steps in this development pathway ultimately established a deep care of the environment which led them to want to protect it.

The educators shared that the forest school participants started to display pro-environmental behaviors as a result of developing an ethos of care for the environment. They shared how students returned to the forest school over time and outside of formal programming. Though the researcher could not distinguish whether students developed attachment to the forest school site or the woods in general based on the interviews, the researcher concluded forest school had a positive impact on their connection with nature. In addition, the researcher discovered that forest school educators felt helping students develop connections with nature and pro-environmental behaviors were a major part of their work at the forest school.

There were limitations to this study. The researcher acknowledged that phase one of the methods did not provide the understanding they sought in answering their research questions and, instead, implemented phase two. However, the researcher shared that interviewing the educators limited the specific context of forest school programming because the exact number of students, proportion of students, and which specific session could not be determined based on the interviews themselves. Finally, the researcher also shared the concern that the UK's model for forest school is not a one-size-fits-all solution for other countries and other student age groups.

Environmental education programs should provide spaces for young children to play and explore in nature. This will support their journey through the five-step pathway to connecting with nature and establishing place attachment, positively impacting the children as they grow older. The researcher recommended regular visits to forest school and similar place-based programs will help children become familiar with the environment, leading to a connection with nature and pro-environmental behaviors that result from developing an ethos of care for the environment.