Resources
This collection of free toolkits, reports, infographics and advocacy tools is designed to help you or your organization connect children, families and communities to nature. Please check back often. We add and update resources regularly!
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Nature-filled schoolyards – or green schoolyards – provide a wealth of well-documented benefits for children’s health, well-being and learning. A growing number of communities are also considering...
This Digest explores the community and environmental benefits of green schoolyards.
In this compilation, we gather studies from previous Research Digests that cover the benefits of green schoolyards and outdoor learning.
We’ve focused this Digest on lessons learned from green schoolyard projects around the world, including studies from 10 different countries. A dozen evidence-based recommendations for designing and using green schoolyards are offered.
History is littered with the good intentions of cultural movements that never reached their full potential. Or were forgotten for decades, then belatedly born again. [caption id="attachment_10778" align="alignright" width="425"]
Research studies included in this annotated bibliography support the understanding that connecting children with nature promotes their mental health and well-being and that this can be especially helpful for children who need to cope with stressful adverse conditions and the emotional responses that their life situations evoke.
This set of resources includes a report developed by national economist Rob Grunewald titled, "How Green Schoolyards Create Economic Value." The report takes a deep look at the economic benefits of green schoolyards as well as additional benefits such as boosting children’s learning, enhancing environmental sustainability, and supporting community development and health. Additional resources include source data and case studies for the report from The Big Sandbox, Inc. and Autocase Economic Advisory, plus infographics, case making materials and more.
This month’s Research Digest explores evidence about the value of outdoor recess for physical and mental health, beneficial play and social-emotional learning, as well as academic functioning. We also explore how green schoolyards support these activities and outcomes. Finally, we offer a set of practical recommendations for great recess experiences and supportive recess policies.
In this Research Digest, we take stock of “what we know” based on recent systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses that aggregate studies on specific topics. Overall, the reviews in this Digest reveal a strengthening evidence base that offers vital implications for the well-being and healthy development of children and youth. In this Digest we examine systematic literature reviews within four focus areas: (1) nature & learning, (2) nature & well-being, (3) the benefits of nature for neurodivergent children and youth and (4) research considerations.
This Digest focuses on climate change resilience and ecological restoration in relation to the benefits for both people and the planet.
Encouraging children and youth of all ages to participate in gardening, whether at home, school or in the community, can positively impact their health, development and the environment. In this toolkit, we share research, resources and recommended reading to help children and teens experience the benefits of nature through gardening.
This Digest provides practice-relevant recommendations for integrating technology and nature to enhance health, well-being, academic succession, and connection to nature.
The following article was published in the September 2020 issue of Green Schoolyards Catalyst Quarterly, a publication of the...
Each year, the Children & Nature Network awards the Richard Louv Prize for Innovation in Nature Connection. Through our nomination process, we learn about remarkable leaders working to connect children, families and communities to the benefits of nature. We are honored to share the inspiring stories of some of these nominees from 2024.
Public policy and funding decisions at all levels of government directly impact children’s ability to engage with and learn from nature. Policies and advocacy efforts around the...
On a brisk Saturday in late October, teams of teachers gathered at a nature preserve just outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. Surrounded by hardwood forests and spring-fed...
Each year, the Children and Nature Network awards the Richard Louv Prize for Innovation In Nature Connection. Through our application and selection process, we discover remarkable leaders making a difference globally. These individuals showcase unparalleled dedication to the natural world, our climate and the well-being of our youth. Learn more about these inspiring leaders below.
Each year, the Children and Nature Network awards the Richard Louv Prize for Innovation In Nature Connection. Through our application and selection process, we discover remarkable leaders making a difference globally. These individuals showcase unparalleled dedication to the natural world, our climate and the well-being of our youth. Learn more about these inspiring leaders below.
In this edition of the Research Digest, we explore the provocative idea that nature is a vital (and hope-instilling) partner in the democratic process. We dive into recent literature to see how youth are reclaiming their right to a healthy future, debate the shifting legal landscape of the ""rights of nature,"" and examine how nature engagement fosters the very resilience and civic competencies our communities need to thrive. From empowering children’s voices to questioning our own anthropocentric biases, this research suggests that the path to a healthier, more just democracy might just be found by stepping outside.
Inhale deeply. Now exhale. Close your eyes and inhale again. Exhale. That's better. Could you use a screen break right about now? Leave your phone behind and...
It can feel as though crises are everywhere we look: climate instability, youth mental health challenges, academic disparities and inequitable infrastructure. Moments like these demand attention to...
The studies in this Research Digest will get you thinking about how greening school grounds contributes to climate and community resilience — while supporting children’s learning, health and well-being. The Digest covers the idea of using a nature-based solutions approach to greening schoolyards, and offers some recommendations for doing so.
Green schoolyards designed around children’s preferences and outdoor learning pedagogies can promote increased physical activity, socio-emotional health, engagement with learning, and connectedness to nature.
For more than 25 years, Luis Alberto Camargo has been connecting children to the natural world. On June 15, Luis was named the 2023 Richard Louv Prize...
Richard Louv suggests that we think about our daily routines to look for opportunities to #OptOutside — not just for a day, but all year and for years to come.
The studies in this Digest highlight the importance of nature for the culture, identity, and health of Indigenous people as well as some of the challenges they experience navigating Western culture and the effects of climate change. This Digest also presents a number of studies that examine the critical role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in restoring culture, connection to nature, health, and resilience for both Native and non-Native individuals.
Eighteen months ago, school districts were mostly at a loss when it came to dealing with a global pandemic. Today, educators and communities should have everything they...
An eight week program in Detroit transforms local youths' lives through mentorship, skill-building and nature-based activities.
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