Engaging families in nature-related activities can benefit both families and the environment. Benefits for families include stronger family bonds; benefits for the environment include deeper connectedness with nature (which predicts pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors). Factors influencing parents’ meaningful involvement in nature-related activities include: (1) a sense of self-efficacy related to nature connectedness, (2) families’ lived experiences and assets, and (3) access to natural environments. Keeping these factors in mind can be helpful in planning and implementing family-focused nature initiatives.

Family plays an important role in environmental activism, with parents and children influencing each other

This review of the literature indicates that concepts and theories from family studies can be applied to the environmental field and that doing so can lead to new ways of solving environmental issues. Findings include the understanding that targeting adults may be more beneficial in addressing urgent environmental problems, but that targeting children might be better for long-term issues. In either case, both parents and children are impacted.
Aghayeeabianeh & Talebi, 2020. Environmentalism in families.
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New tool for assessing parental self-efficacy related to nature connectedness is reliable and valid

This study involved developing and testing a tool to measure parental self-efficacy related to nature connectedness. Testing results found the tool to be reliable and valid. Researchers, policy makers, and organizations may find this tool helpful in working to increase children’s engagement with nature, as parents play an important role in the process.
Barnes et al. 2021. Development and testing of the nature connectedness parental self-efficacy (NCPSE) scale.
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Drawing on families’ lived experiences and assets may promote more inclusive outdoor adventure education programming

Eight ethnic minority parents from lower-income backgrounds participated in this study focusing on their involvement in outdoor adventure education programs organized by schools in the UK. First-hand accounts provided by the parents indicate that they drew on different forms of capital (aspirational, familial, navigational, resistant, and social) to meet the expectations placed on them by the schools.
Cook, 2021. Utilising the community cultural wealth framework to explore Sierra Leonean parents’ experiences of outdoor adventure education in the United Kingdom.
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Family nature engagement can support parents’ psychological needs while living in a shelter

This study involved 160 parents (mostly mothers) who lived with their children in a women’s or homeless shelter in the Netherlands. The shelters had newly developed natural environments. Parental responses to a psychological scale showed higher parental need satisfaction and lower frustration while experiencing nature with their child(ren) compared to an activity in the indoor environment of the shelter.
Peters et al. 2020. Experiencing nature to satisfy basic psychological needs in parenting: A quasi-experiment in family shelters. 
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Urban dwellers tend to be happier in greener neighborhoods, but several factors can affect the greenness-wellbeing relationship

Researchers using individual survey and neighborhood greenness data found that family composition – especially in relation to having school-age children – influenced residents’ living expectations towards natural environments. The study also found that both family composition and living expectations had a significant impact on how greenness influenced happiness. The study involved 4900 households located in the metropolitan areas of Beijing.
Wu et al. 2021. Residential self-selection in the greenness-wellbeing connection: A family composition perspective. 
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Nature-based programs can be effective in promoting the positive growth and social-emotional learning of young people, including youth living in rural environments, youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, and youth experiencing homelessness. Different types of programs proven to promote positive youth development include ecological restoration programs, outdoor adventure residentials, and programs with an environmental education focus. Lasting positive impacts include improved self-confidence, independence, positive connections with others, health-related quality of life, and communication. Specific characteristics of nature-based programs linked to positive youth development include intensity of the experience, team-focused activities, and meaningful goals.

Lasting impacts of outdoor adventure residentials on young people include self-confidence, independence, and communication

This literature review investigated empirical evidence of the “lasting impact” of youths’ participation in an outdoor adventure residential program in the UK. Common characteristics of the included programs consisted of (a) a sharing of a small space and (b) working as a team towards a common goal. Factors contributing to lasting positive intra- and inter-personal outcomes included the intensity of the residential and the power of groups.
Prince, 2020. The lasting impacts of outdoor adventure residential experiences on young people.
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Exposure and connection to nature are positively linked to positive development in rural youth

Surveys completed by 587 youth (age 11-14) in rural areas in South Carolina (USA) showed that exposure and connection to nature were significantly and positively associated with growth in the five C’s of positive youth development (competence, connection, confidence, character, and caring). Of these, the strongest associations related to competence and connection.
Bowers, Larson, & Parry, 2021. Nature as an ecological asset for positive youth development: Empirical evidence from rural communities.
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Ecological restoration can improve the physical and psychological health of youth involved

Program evaluation results from the Borderlands Earth Care Youth Institute in Arizona (USA) showed that youth involved in ecological restoration experienced improved emotional, social, and physical health, along with a capacity for environmental restoration. These findings highlight the importance of collaboration between restoration ecologists and ecopsychologists in promoting the welfare of people and the planet.
Nabhan et al. 2020. Hands-on ecological restoration as a nature-based health intervention: Reciprocal restoration for people and ecosystems.
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Youth participating in a nature education program showed significant improvement in health-related quality of life

This study involved 362 youth (age 9-15) living in low-income areas of St. Louis, Missouri (USA). Some of the 297 youth participated in a 15-week nature-based education (NBE) program; the others did not. After the 15-weeks, youth participating in the NBE program showed significant improvements in five health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains and in overall HRQoL. Youth not participating in the program showed significant declines in all the domain areas plus overall HRQoL.
Sprague & Ekenga, 2021. The impact of nature-based education on health-related quality of life among low-income youth: Results from an intervention study.
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Outdoor adventure education can promote personal growth in young people experiencing homelessness

Fifty-four homeless youth (age 16-24), after participating in a needs-supportive outdoor adventure education program in the UK, individually answered a series of questions about the experience. Their responses indicated that they gained both short-term and long-term youth development benefits, especially in the area of social competence. This competence was typically reflected in the giving and receiving of social support.
Parry et al. 2021. Promoting personal growth in young people experiencing homelessness through an outdoor-based program.
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Green schoolyards can promote individual, school, and community well‐being. They can also serve as powerful drivers of health equity for people living in urban low-income communities. Yet, a number of barriers need to be addressed for the up-scaling of green schoolyards to be successful. More research is also needed to identify factors relating to the development and use of natural areas on schoolgrounds, including issues relating to equitable access, the actual use of natural areas, the professional development of teachers, and strategies for involving children throughout the entire process.

Greening of schoolyards can generate positive physical activity and socioemotional health outcomes for students

This literature review examined experimental studies to investigate the impact of schoolyard greening on children’s physical activity (PA) and socioemotional health (SEH). While most of the outcome measures for both PA and SEH showed beneficial changes due to greening, there were some exceptions. There were also some age and gender differences. Overall findings, however, indicate that schoolyard greening can promote the health and well-being of students.
Bikomeye, Balza & Beyer, 2021. The impact of schoolyard greening on children’s physical activity and socioemotional health: A systematic review of experimental studies.
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School greening and outdoor education programs should be driven by equity criteria

Research focusing on green infrastructure within and around 324 primary schools in Barcelona found that school-based exposure and access to urban nature were markedly greater in wealthier neighborhoods. Additionally, children in schools with more greenness enjoyed frequent nature-related outdoor activities; children in schools with less greenness did not. This research highlights the need to work from an equity lens in school greening initiatives.
Baro et al. 2021. School greening: Right or privilege? Examining urban nature within and around primary schools through an equity lens.
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Green schoolyards – by promoting individual, school, and community well‐being – may be powerful drivers of health equity

Observations and surveys completed before and after the greening of schoolyards in two Chicago, Illinois (USA) schools indicate that green schoolyards can provide a safe space for children and adults to engage in social, outdoor activities and thus benefit from the increased access to nature. These benefits may promote health equity for people living in urban low-income communities.
Bohnert et al. 2021. Green schoolyard renovations in low‐income urban neighborhoods: Benefits to students, schools, and the surrounding community.
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A combination of factors serves as barriers to the successful up-scaling of green schoolyards

Researchers used interviews and document analysis to identify barriers to the up-scaling of green schoolyards in the Netherlands. Identified barriers include lack of environmental awareness, funding difficulties, lack of time and expertise, bureaucratic complexities, lack of political will, and limited understanding and commitment on the part of teachers. These barriers impact schools in low-income neighborhoods more than schools in higher-income neighborhoods.
Giezen & Pellerey, 2021. Renaturing the city: Factors contributing to upscaling green schoolyards in Amsterdam and The Hague.
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Outdoor school environment projects would do well to involve children throughout the entire design and re-design phases of the project

This study investigated the play behaviors of children on a renovated school ground in Colorado (USA) that had previously engaged students in the renovation process. Results revealed aspects of the school ground design that warranted further improvement, especially in relation to affordances for social interaction, girls’ preferred play choices, and older children’s sense of challenge. These results highlight the importance of involving children in all phases of school ground design.
Kreutz, Timperio & Veitch, 2021. Participatory school ground design: Play behaviour and student and teacher views of a school ground post-construction.
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Green schoolyards can be a tool for equitable access to nature, but more coordinated research and action are required

A concern about inequitable access to nature led to the development of a research agenda aimed at supporting policy goals to implement green schoolyards across the country. The proposed agenda includes six priority areas: academic performance, teacher retention and satisfaction, social and emotional learning, individual health and wellbeing, community wellbeing, and cost-benefit analysis.
Stevenson et al. 2020. A national research agenda supporting green schoolyard development and equitable access to nature.
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Simply providing nature-rich areas in schoolyards cannot guarantee the use of natural spaces by children and teachers

Surveys completed by 14 teachers and 199 students in Raleigh, NC (USA) showed that children were less aware of nature-rich spaces on their schoolgrounds compared to traditional playgrounds and athletic fields. The children also spent less time in the nature-rich spaces. Environmental education training on the part of the teachers positively predicted student awareness of gardens and children exploring woodlands.
Zhang, Stevenson, & Martin, 2021. Exploring geographical, curricular, and demographic factors of nature use by children in urban schoolyards in Raleigh, NC, USA.
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