Creative activities and time outdoors are both thought to be good for learners. But they are usually studied apart, so it's hard to know what you gain by combining them. Many educators face the same choice: is moving a session outside worth the extra planning?
The researchers studied Songwriting for Nature, a weekend camp at Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area in Saskatchewan, Canada. In one study, 15 high school students (about 14 to 16 years old) wrote songs at camp, while 23 Grade 9 students did the same four hours of songwriting in class. In the other, 11 adult songwriters at camp were compared with 9 university biology students at a nature field camp with no songwriting. Everyone completed questionnaires before and after.
The researchers found:
- Writing songs outdoors built connection to nature. Teens and adults at camp felt more connected to nature afterwards. Classroom students felt less connected by the end, even though both groups started at similar levels.
- Being outdoors did much of the work, and songwriting added something extra. Adult songwriters and biology campers both felt a little more connected to nature. Only the songwriters showed a clear shift in their attitudes toward nature, which the authors link to the reflective side of writing songs.
- Songwriting eased stress in any setting. Teens felt less anxious and stressed after writing songs, both at camp and in class.
- Awe came from being outside. Feelings like awe, gratitude and fascination rose only in the outdoor groups.
- Songwriting boosted creative thinking. Songwriters got better at a word task that measures how many ideas people can come up with. The authors credit the songwriting more than the setting.
What this means for your practice
- Match the setting to your goal. If you want learners to feel closer to nature, take the creative activity outside. The same songwriting indoors did not build that connection.
- Use creative work indoors when you can't get out. If your goal is calmer, less stressed learners, a creative activity in the classroom can still do that.
- Go outside for wonder. Awe, gratitude and fascination only grew when people were in nature.
- Mix group time with time alone. The camp combined guided hikes, campfire jams, group songwriting and solo reflection. The authors link time alone outdoors to changes in how people see themselves in relation to nature. They link group work to less anxiety and a sense of community.
- Add a reflective creative task to outdoor trips. Time outside helped on its own, but songwriters shifted more in their attitudes toward nature. Pairing a nature visit with songwriting gives learners a way to process what they experienced.
- End with a performance. Both camps closed with a public sharing of the songs. The authors treat this as a core part of the program, not an extra. A short concert for families or the community could give your learners the same finish.
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The Bottom Line
The researchers compared songwriting taught at a wildlife area with songwriting taught indoors, in two studies with teens and adults in Saskatchewan, Canada. Teens and adults who wrote songs outdoors felt more connected to nature afterwards, while classroom students who did the same songwriting felt less connected. Writing songs lowered teens' stress and anxiety whether they were indoors or out, and it boosted creative thinking. Only the outdoor groups felt more awe and wonder. For educators, this helps answer a common planning question: is it worth taking a session outside? If you want learners to feel closer to nature, yes. If your main goal is to lift mood or ease stress, a creative activity indoors can still help.