Barriers to Using Natural Outdoor Spaces in Early Childhood Education
Natural outdoor spaces can range from wilderness preserves to unmanicured spaces, such as an overgrown lawn or a small patch of nature under a stand of trees. The importance of bringing children into these spaces has been well established as a means of improving resiliency as well as social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Yet, these settings are still greatly underutilized in early childhood education.