The movement to reconnect children with nature includes initiatives to engage children in nature-based play and learning activities in school and related settings. Research studies document multiple benefits associated with such initiatives, including pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors, increased well-being and improved academic performance. Some of these benefits were featured in the August 2020 and August 2021 Research Digests.

The studies in this August 2023 Digest focus on a specific associated benefit for children, that of increased social-emotional learning (SEL), which is sometimes defined as the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control and interpersonal skills necessary for success in school, work and other aspects of life.

Social-emotional assessment tools used in some research studies address five interrelated areas of social and emotional competence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. The studies in this Digest address one or more of these areas of SEL and add support to the understanding that connectedness to nature (C2N) and SEL are positively related. Findings from these studies also support the following six recommendations for practice.

Focus nature-related initiatives on nature engagement and nature connection, not just on nature exposure.

Nature connection is positively linked to the social-emotional development of children

Over 100 students (age 8-10) from three elementary schools in Austin, Texas, completed assessments of connection to nature (C2N) and social-emotional learning (SEL). The three schools had differing levels of greenness. Results showed significant positive associations between greenness and overall SEL skills, self-awareness, self-management and relationship skills. Physical exposure to nature at school did not seem to determine children’s C2N.
Lanza et al. 2023. Connection to nature is associated with social-emotional learning of children.
Access Study

Provide opportunities for self-guided exploration during nature-based experiences.

Self-guided exploration during outdoor education can promote connections to nature and social-emotional learning

Interview responses from 21 third-grade students and 2 teachers about their monthly excursions to a nearby greenway in Canada indicated that self-guided explorations in nature promoted children’s social awareness and positive peer interactions. Results also showed increased cooperation, creativity, imagination, pride in personal discoveries and ability to deal with one’s emotions.
Berg et al. 2021. Meaning-making of student experiences during outdoor exploration time.
Access Study

Self-directed learning during outdoor activities increased self-awareness and self-management

Data for this study was based on interviews with a school gardening/environmental teacher in Australia and from students’ reflective workbook entries regarding outdoor learning. Findings illustrate ways in which the classroom teachers provided opportunities for students to learn through self-directed processes. Benefits to the students included “whole body engagement,” autonomy and efficacy.
Green & Rayner, 2020. School ground pedagogies for enriching children’s outdoor learning
Access Study

Engage children in gardening activities.

School gardens focusing on academic standards may also promote social-emotional learning

This literature review focused on how school garden programs – while addressing academic goals – can impact social-emotional learning (SEL) as well. Findings from qualitative studies from five different countries showed that the benefits of school garden programs include improved SEL competencies and heightened connections with nature among children and adolescents. Improved SEL competencies included positive interpersonal relationships and responsible decision making.
Lohr et al. 2020. The impact of school gardens on youth social and emotional learning: A scoping review.
Access Study

Garden-based learning may promote positive emotions and improved interpersonal relationships

Five classes of sixth graders in Germany participated in a study examining the extent to which biology lessons in school gardens can impact the development of social and emotional behaviors. Data collected over a ten-week period indicated that students experienced happiness, pride and surprise/wonder, and exhibited cooperative behavior significantly more often in lessons in the garden than in the classroom.
Pollin & Retzlaff-Fürst, 2021. The school garden: A social and emotional place.
Access Study

Provide direct experience with animals and other natural elements.

Direct experience with natural elements can promote students’ well-being, connectedness to nature and relationship skills

Two studies were conducted with students participating in a non-residential, school-based outdoor environmental education program in Italy. Both studies compared the participating students with non-participating students on different environmental and well-being dimensions using pre/post measures. Participating students made greater gains in well-being, connectedness to nature and interpersonal relationships than the non-participating students. The gains were attributed to direct experience with natural elements.
Pirchio et al. 2021. The effects of contact with nature during outdoor environmental education on students’ wellbeing, connectedness to nature and pro-sociality.
Access Study

Caring for hens at school helped children make social-emotional gains

A group of 5 to 9-year-old children with a mixed range of socio-emotional and educational needs in Dublin, Ireland participated in this study. An animal-care project at the school allowed the children to actively care for hens through cleaning, feeding and collecting eggs. Feedback from students and teachers indicated that this project promoted empathy, more positive interpersonal relationships, relaxation and motivation.
Gilligan & Downes, 2021. Reconfiguring relational space: A qualitative study of the benefits of caring for hens for the socio-emotional development of 5 to 9-year-old children in an urban junior school context of high socioeconomic exclusion.
Access Study

Conduct academic classes outdoors.

Learning outside the classroom has measurable socio-emotional, academic and well-being benefits for students across all ages

This review included 147 studies conducted across 20 countries. The studies focused on learning outside the classroom with the four most common contexts being adventure education, residential camps, curricular lessons conducted in the outdoors and school gardens. Improved “soft skills” relating to self-concept and intrapersonal skills — along with social and interpersonal skills — were the most commonly reported outcomes.
Mann et al. 2022. Getting out of the classroom and into nature: A systematic review of nature-specific outdoor learning on school children’s learning and development.
Access Study

Outdoor learning provides multiple academic, social and emotional benefits for primary school children

Twenty studies involving 3,283 primary aged children from multiple countries documented positive outcomes of outdoor learning in five categories: physical activity, mental health and well-being, educational, engagement and social outcomes. Results relating to social-emotional outcomes were consistently positive and included improvements in self-awareness, emotional intelligence and communication.
Miller et al. 2021. The outcomes of nature-based learning for primary school aged children: A systematic review of quantitative research
Access Study

Integrate the creative arts and nature-based activities.

Music-making outdoors in nature can promote self-management and relationship skills

Students from six primary schools in the UK created and performed musical ceremonies in outdoor natural environments near their schools. Teacher feedback indicated that “a potent convergence” occurred when the students’ music-making and the affordances of the natural environments were combined. Positive student outcomes included increased focus, heightened creativity and improved interpersonal skills.
Adams & Beauchamp, 2021. The impact of music making outdoors on primary school aged pupils (aged 7–10 years) in the soundscape of nature from the perspective of their primary school teachers. 
Access Study

Arts-based activities in nature can promote emotional regulation and other SEL skills in children and youth

This systematic review included a synthesis of data from eight studies exploring the types, characteristics and benefits of arts-based activities in nature. The studies were conducted in five different countries and included data from 602 participants recruited from elementary and high schools. Positive outcomes included increased autonomy, agency, empathy, emotional regulation and self-awareness.
Moula, Palmer & Walshe, 2022. A systematic review of arts-based interventions delivered to children and young people in nature or outdoor spaces: Impact on nature connectedness, health and wellbeing.
Access Study