Children most familiar with woodland tended to see it in the most positive lightHow are children connected with the wooded landscape? This was one of the questions addressed in a study focusing on children’s experience and knowledge of woodland in English rural landscape. While it’s sometimes assumed that the lack of experience with wooded environments may lead to fear and other negative feelings about woodland areas, this assumption has not been validated by research. This study addressed this gap in the literature.
The 21 children (age 9-11) participating in this study were from two rural schools in Derbyshire, England, both with woodland nearby. Data collection measures with children included a draw-and-tell exercise, semi-structured interviews, and a researcher-led woodland walk. Parents and teachers also participated in focus-group discussions. Assessments with the children focused on their experience and familiarity with woodland, as well as their feelings about and attitudes toward woodland. Parent and teacher assessments included questions about (a) factors influencing how children feel about playing in the woods and (b) how they (the adults) feel about children playing unsupervised in the woods.
The data showed that most of the children visited local woodlands on a regular basis. Unsupervised visits, however, were usually limited to woods next to the children’s homes. Most of the children understood how woodland objects are used but were less knowledgeable about specific aspects of the woods, such as the names of trees and other plants. While most of the children had positive attitudes about woodland, this was especially true for children with the greatest experience with woods. For many of the children, the woods was a place of freedom, calm, and adventure. While fear was often associated with the woods, it rarely dominated the children’s feelings about the woods and was often expressed as an exhilarating experience.
The overall findings of this research indicate that children most familiar with woodland tended to see it in the most positive light. Parent and teacher support for playing in the woods was also related to more positive feelings about woodland, especially if children were given the freedom to play unsupervised. Close proximity to woodland made unsupervised playing in the woods more likely. This research supports the understanding that familiarity with natural environments is linked to positive environmental attitudes. The findings of this research are also consistent with other studies documenting the role of unstructured outdoor play in natural environments promoting positive environmental attitudes.
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