Connecting Children of All Abilities
to Nature Play & Therapeutic Gardens
Inclusive nature play spaces and gardens offer opportunities for children with disabilities and their families to engage with the natural world and feel valued in their communities. This toolkit offers research, resources and recommended readings that address the benefits and design of outdoor play and gardening environments that meet the unique needs of children of all abilities.
“Nature doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t make judgments. Rain falls on every child.”
—Ruth Wilson, author and Children & Nature Network research library curator
Essential Reading
This list of books and practical guides offers expert perspectives and real-world solutions for creating inclusive play spaces and programs for children with disabilities and their families. Direct links to publishers are included when available; publications can also be found through online booksellers such as Bookshop.org, IndieBound.org and Amazon.
Research Digest: Children with special needs
This Children & Nature Network Research Digest focuses on the benefits children with special needs receive from engagement with nature, various types of nature-based interventions, as well as barriers to nature engagement for children with special needs.
Seattle PlayGarden Inclusion Toolkit
This inclusion toolkit was developed by the Seattle Children’s PlayGarden to help other programs feel empowered to include children with disabilities into their programs. It can be downloaded for free or purchased as a hard copy. The toolkit offers specific suggestions on how to make environments and activities not only accessible, but also inclusive in such venues as parks and playgrounds, after-school sports and extracurricular activities, and museums and zoos.
Green Schoolyards America Inclusive Design for Outdoor Spaces
This online article highlights specific suggestions on how to make outdoor school environments more accessible for children with disabilities. Included in the article are discussions on (1) what to consider during the planning process, (2) how to engage parents, caregivers, and special education and related service professionals, and (3) specific adaptations for different types of disabilities.
How To Create A Backyard Sanctuary For Kids With Disabilities
This online article, developed by Childmags.com.au, offers do-it-yourself options for creating a backyard sanctuary for children with special needs, including children with autism, low vision, mobility challenges and hearing impairments. Related discussion highlights the many benefits of outdoor and nature-based activities for children of all abilities and their families.
PlayCore Inclusion Resources
Whole communities start with inclusively designed whole environments which carefully meet the needs of the whole child. PlayCore’s Center for Outreach, Research, and Education (CORE) offers evidence-based design, programming and product considerations for creating outdoor play environments and experiences that nurture children and families of all ages and abilities.
Neurodiversity in nature: Occupational therapy in the outdoors helps children find confidence
The moment came just a few weeks into Nick’s* participation in outdoor OT sessions. Nick’s mom was chatting with Laura Park Figueroa, who led Nick’s sessions. Suddenly, Nick climbed...
“Naturally Inclusive” outdoor experiences for children of all abilities
Editor’s note: We’re thrilled to share excerpts from the new book “Naturally Inclusive: Engaging Children of All Abilities Outdoors,” authored by our Research Library curator Ruth Wilson....
It was 2013. I was away from home for a work meeting when Danae called and told me that our daughter, Lydia, had an EEG test scheduled for the following morning. She was three months old...
This toolkit was curated and developed with guidance from early childhood experts Ruth Wilson, author and Children & Nature Network Research Library curator, and Louise Chawla, professor emerita with the University of Colorado Boulder and member of the Children & Nature Network’s Scientific Advisory Council. Special thanks to Ruth and Louise for their contributions and commitment to children of all abilities.
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