Resources

In 1994, I made what some thought was a radical decision: I left my busy life in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved my family to our weekend farm...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of several U.S. cities that’s joined the growing nature prescription movement. Nature prescriptions are formal recommendations from healthcare professionals that encourage patients to...

PSA: Don’t skip that daily dose of Vitamin N. It could be fundamental to how you think, feel and cope. In a global study of more than 38,000 people across 75 countries, researchers examined “nature connectedness,” which they defined as seeing nature as part of one’s identity and feeling an emotional bond with the natural world. They found that people who felt more connected to nature consistently reported higher well-being, including greater life satisfaction, hope, resilience and mindfulness — patterns that held across cultures, ages and economic contexts. As policymakers look for ways to address both environmental and mental health challenges, the findings point to a shared solution. Reconnecting with nature, the authors suggest, “is not a luxury but a fundamental — and widely shared — human need.” The Conversation.

At a public early childhood school in São Paulo, Brazil, children leave the classroom and head to a “little forest” — planted by other students just a few years earlier. There, they play with leaves, branches and fruit from more than 100 native trees, connecting with nature through exploration. It’s a rare experience. In Brazil’s capital cities, 43.5% of young children attend schools without green space, and access is even more limited in poorer, predominantly Black communities. Yet as climate change intensifies, the need for these spaces is increasingly urgent. In early childhood — when 90% of brain development takes place — extreme heat and limited nature contact can disrupt healthy development. Experts say even small solutions, like rooftop gardens, wall vines or green pathways, can help. Valor International.

At Kids and Kins Child Care Centre in Singapore, toddlers gather eggs, feed chickens and harvest fruit in a lush garden designed to mimic living in a kampung (traditional village). By caring for animals and tending plants, children learn responsibility and build a sense of empathy for the natural world. It’s just one example in this sweet article about Singapore preschools that are getting kids outside everyday. The educators point out that time in the outdoors encourages not just nature connection but learning. “We recognise the strong relationship between physical movement and cognitive development,” one teacher explains. “Open-ended materials encourage construction, negotiation and problem-solving, while calibrated risks build judgment, confidence and resilience.” Beanstalk.

Wish you had more quality time with your kids — and can you quit your day job? Consider thru-hiking: Long-distance treks that span hundreds or even thousands of miles, often over months at a time. Reporter David Gleisner talks to families who have taken on iconic trails like the Pacific Crest and Appalachian, hiking together through snow, rain and long, demanding days. The challenges are many, including heavy packs, a slow pace and wet, hangry kiddos. But most say the benefits of these big adventures outweigh the costs: There’s time to talk, to count salamanders and jump in creeks, to experience big gratitude for nature — and to learn how to push through the hard parts. Though thru-hiking might not be for every family or lifestyle, the article offers lessons that could be implemented by any family looking to integrate nature into their day-to-day. Outside.

April is National Gardening Month. For kids, gardens can be a muddy delight — and fantastic classrooms. “We can teach a lot through gardening,” said Donna Aufdenberg, an horticulture specialist. “So many activities that are, yes, gardening, but are also math- or art-oriented.” In this brief article, Aufdenberg shares kid-friendly projects that build skills and spark curiosity, from making seed tapes with flour paste to designing butterfly gardens and planting salad boxes. Along the way, children practice measuring, explore color and shape, and take pride in growing their own food. News-Press Now.

On Eid mornings, I'd walk up and down the stairs of our 6-story housing complex in Bhawani Peth, Pune, India, proudly balancing bowls of sheer khurma on...

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...

Working to protect and conserve wildlife and wild spaces, women conservation leaders have been crucial in driving the 20th century conservation movement in the United States and beyond. Read about the women who have advocated for places like Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Everglades, as well as protecting wildlife like the gray wolf and bringing attention to important issues like the system-wide negative effects of pollution. And one of our own is named — our Founders’ Council member Fran P. Mainella, who was the first woman Director of the National Park Service. Here’s to Women’s History Month — and women’s present and future, too. The Wilderness Society.

The London, U.K.-based nonprofit Dose of Nature — which offers an outdoor therapy course — is seeing better mental health outcomes than popular forms of talk therapy, with a recovery rate of 64% compared to talk therapy’s 50%. The Dose of Nature course is prescribed by GPs and begins with an assessment and discussion with a psychologist. Clients are then paired with a trained volunteer guide for weekly sessions outside, where they benefit from serotonin-boosting sunshine and the phytochemicals emitted by trees and plants that can decrease stress hormones. An independent assessment by the London School of Economics found that the program works and is cost effective, with clinically meaningful benefits that are worth eight times the cost of the nature prescription. The Guardian.

We know that nature access in early childhood — from birth to age five — is key to children’s healthy development. But what about nature access before birth? A new study from the University of Illinois Chicago found that pregnant people living in greener neighborhoods were more likely to give birth to babies with higher birth weights (an indicator of health). This finding held true, even when taking into account variables such as air pollutants and socioeconomic status. Greener neighborhoods facilitate exercise, stress recovery and relaxation; reduce adverse environmental exposures; and create opportunities for social connections — all factors that could positively affect health at birth. The study authors suggest integrating urban greening, mindfulness in nature, and nature walking groups for pregnant people. UIC Today.

In this article, writer Trương Huỳnh Như Trân describes the gardens she’s loved, from her childhood garden in the Vietnamese countryside with mango trees, bougainvillea blossoms and jackfruit leaves, to the rooftop terrace in Hồ Chí Minh City where she tended vegetables and flowers as an adult. Trân writes “for children and about nature,” a calling that she describes as her “natural stream,” saying, “Only when I write about nature do I feel completely immersed, as if the stream never runs dry.” She continues, “I find nature so wondrous and beautiful that I want to tell children about it, like a child who discovers something magical and eagerly shares it with others.” Việt Nam News.

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.

Embracing natural consequences, unscheduled afternoons and early independence, free-range parenting is a movement in response to helicopter parents. In a world where parents can be reported as neglectful for simply letting their children play outside, advocates like Lenore Skenazy are making the case that children should play in nature, get bored during unstructured time, earn their independence, and test their limits. The free-range, Let Grow movement is paired with a growing trend of “reasonable childhood independence” laws in states around the U.S. Parents.

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...

Cincinnati, Ohio, is best known for the Reds and Skyline Chili. But in the children and nature movement, the city is also synonymous with green schoolyards.

From Uganda to Canada, the global movement for children and nature continues to grow. New Zealand is now home to more than 80 forest schools — a significant number in a country with about 2,500 schools in total. Ōhinemahuta Nature School is one such school, where students ages 6 to 16 forage for hazelnuts, learn about peitatanga (traditional Māori painting), build rafts and lie in the grass watching the clouds drift by. The school’s programming meets children where they are, providing an outlet for neurodivergent students and those who are thriving academically, and fostering community for kids who don’t fit in at school. “When children learn through play and real experiences, their brains make connections much faster,” program founder Emily Lemmens explains. Marlborough App.

Educators around the U.S. are noticing the ways that children benefit from spending time outside. In 2015, Jean Lomino co-founded the first forest kindergarten in Tennessee, then, just a few years later, she launched the Forest School Teacher Institute to meet a growing demand from educators who want to teach outdoors. One principle that Lomino highlights in her teaching is the concept of “emergent learning,” in which students learn through exploration. “The teacher’s role changes from being in front of the class and delivering information,” Lomino explained. “They become the facilitator of the learning and watch what the children are interested in and follow those interests.” The article includes several stories of educational programs that channel nature’s benefits for every student. Courthouse News Service.

“Remember when free range parenting was just parenting?” That’s the question posed by Ashley Hoffman, executive director of the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education. In this article, Hoffman describes the importance of licensing for nature-based programs, a dream that would become a reality in Kentucky under House Bill 496. She writes clearly and passionately about the loss of outdoor time in childhood — a trend that HB 496 could help to address. Central Kentucky News-Journal.

A new study of the nature gap finds that nature deprivation is concentrated among communities of color and low-income households. Conducted by Conservation Science Partners and commissioned by the Center for American Progress and Justice Outside, the study quantifies the effects, finding that “communities of color are three times more likely than white communities to live in nature-deprived areas” and that about 75% of residents of nature-deprived areas have low incomes. Nature-deprived areas are also often exposed to the highest levels of pollution and climate risks. Despite these persistent challenges, local organizations around the U.S. are working to close the nature gap, offering lessons and best practices for the future of environmental justice organizing. Center for American Progress.

Across the ocean, a similar scene takes place in Malaysia, where Orang Asli children gather for Pokok Playgroup. Like Ōhinemahuta in New Zealand, Pokok was sparked when its founder, Bavanie Suppiah, was a young mother who found comfort and peace with her children in the outdoors. Today, Pokok offers activities that are grounded in ethical conservation practices, balancing structure, playfulness and tactile exploration. Bavanie also integrates language lessons in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, offering a bridge between language learning, cultural knowledge and environmental stewardship. “We want them to learn the exact names for what they already know. And our activities make them want to know more and ask their Elders for names and stories,” she said. Free Malaysia Today.

In Scotland, nine-month-old Hamish is living his best life in the fresh mountain air, as depicted in this article’s priceless pictures: Hamish crawling on a boulder, snoozing contentedly in a cozy bothy (primitive trailside hut), grinning in the glow of a headlamp inside a tent with Mom, and beaming while bundled up on a snowy walk through the trees. Hamish’s mom Morag Skelton is an experienced mountaineer and outdoor instructor. But any parent can bring a baby outside for a bit of fresh air and sunshine — to the benefit of both infant and caregiver. Skelton explains, “Babies and kids thrive in the outdoors because of the endless natural sensory play — from the smell of fresh air and the pine forest to the touch of the varying textures to the sound of the trees swaying and the rivers running.” BBC.

Over the past decade, the Nature Everywhere Communities initiative has partnered with communities across the country to expand children’s access...

This report documents the ripple effects of the Nature Everywhere Boulder (NEB) coalition, a cross-sector partnership focused on expanding equitable access to nature for children and families in Boulder. Developed through a Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) evaluation process with 24 participants, the report identifies six core impact themes: guiding beliefs, cross-sector collaboration, community co-design, community empowerment, policy and practice change, and ongoing challenges.

The Nature Everywhere Communities initiative invited the Lower Columbia Nature Network to participate in a Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) evaluation to document and understand the impacts of systems-change efforts aimed at creating more equitable access to nature for children everywhere they live, learn, and play. This report summarizes those findings.

The Nature Everywhere Communities initiative invited PCCCN to participate in a Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) evaluation process to uplift their systems change approach and extensive early childhood nature connections and nature exploration area park improvements. This report summarizes those findings.

The Nature Everywhere Communities initiative invited GSAN to participate in a Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) evaluation process to strengthen their systems-change approach and their extensive green schoolyards and climate resilience efforts. This report summarizes those findings.

Insights from an independent evaluation confirm that Nature Everywhere’s proven process and resources, combined with strong community teams and time, drive lasting change. This infographic outlines the findings of that evaluation.

The Nature Everywhere Communities initiative invited Prescribe Outside to participate in a Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) evaluation process to document and understand the impacts of systems change efforts aimed at creating more equitable access to nature everywhere children live, learn and play. This report summarizes those findings.