Rural Canadian children are aware of the mental health benefits of nature engagement and are pro-active in turning to nature to experience these benefitsThis research explored how children living in a rural area in Canada define nature, how they experience nature, and what they perceive as the benefits of nature. The goal of the investigation was to generate evidence grounded in children’s own experiences to inform interventions designed to foster children’s interactions with nature that promote their health and development.
Eighty-four children (age 9-14) from four different schools participated in this study. The participating schools serve three rural townships in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. A young adult who was born, raised, and worked in the local community as an educator conducted semi-structured small-group interviews with the children. The children were asked to share their ideas about nature, information about their nature-engagement experiences, and their perspectives of the benefits they receive from nature. Interview questions included (a) what comes to mind when you think about nature? (b) where do you find nature at school? and (3) what do you use nature for at home? The interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim.
From the children’s responses, the researchers identified three primary themes. First, the children associated nature with specific activities, natural elements, and locations, and conceptualized nature as ‘a whole community.’ While the children saw nature as a system of living elements, their descriptions often excluded humans. Second, the children experienced nature through “doing” -- that is, through various structured and unstructured activities, such as free play or ‘made-up’ activities. The children highlighted how these activities connected them with nature and identified certain factors placing constraints on their engagement with nature. They noted differences in relation to both opportunities and constraints between the home and school environments. The schoolyards, for most of the children, were not perceived as being very natural places. Constraints to engagement with nature included weather conditions and parental restrictions. The third theme related to children’s agency in accessing nature to improve their emotional states. While children were aware of such nature-related physical health benefits as exercise, they were also aware of the emotional or mental health benefits associated with nature. They shared ideas on how they actively used nature to promote positive feelings. Some children also shared information about how they felt nature engagement improved their cognitive functioning.
The results of this study show that rural children were aware of the benefits of nature engagement for their socio-emotional well-being and were pro-active in turning to nature to experience these benefits. These findings also indicate that children view nature as “more than just space with natural elements.” They know that nature includes complex features and landscapes. These findings may be helpful in the design of interventions to connect children with nature by building on what children understand about the benefits they can receive through nature engagement. These findings also highlight the need for schools to provide more opportunities for children to interact with nature.
The Bottom Line