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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.

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 Research Digest surveys studies of PK-12 teachers, outdoor educators and other nature professionals who work with children outdoors.

This Research Digest explores the potential of nature and park prescriptions to support children’s health and well-being.

This Research Digest explores how access to national parks, national forests and public urban green space can benefit children and families.

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.

This Research Digest explores how backcountry and wilderness adventures can support physical, psychological, social-emotional and spiritual well-being.

In gardens, children are happy, curious and engaged in both learning and caring for nature — and a well-established body of research shows this. This Research Digest explores how gardens used for therapeutic and educational interventions support an array of positive outcomes.

This Research Digest considers how nature and art can be integrated to support children’s mental health and well-being, connection to nature and environmental literacy.

This Digest highlights research that has examined the interactions between screen time, green time, and children’s health and development. Based on these understandings, a set of research-based practical recommendations are offered to guide families and communities in helping youth establish healthy relationships with screen devices through a variety of approaches aimed at boosting green time.

This Digest explores the developmental and restorative potential of nature for refugee children and others experiencing severe trauma.

In the final Research Digest of 2024, Research Director and Digest editor Cathy Jordan shares exciting developments for the year ahead and offers a look back at the Digests from 2024.

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.

This Digest includes studies that examine participatory design approaches. These approaches provide children and youth with opportunities to influence the development of programs and initiatives. The common themes throughout these approaches are centered on empowering children and communities by balancing distributions of power, and lifting children’s voices.

This Research Digest explores biophilic design – the intentional design of indoor and outdoor spaces to integrate natural elements and patterns into the built environment, with the aim of enhancing well-being. Biophilic design can be applied in a range of settings. In this Digest we focus on schools, libraries, childcare and urban settings where children learn and play.

This Digest explores dimensions of play inequity and strategies to create greater equity.

This Digest focuses on nature as a promoter of resilience in vulnerable children and youth

This Digest explores pathways to environmental stewardship, particularly through connectedness to nature and other nature experiences

This Digest provides practice-relevant recommendations for integrating technology and nature to enhance health, well-being, academic succession, and connection to nature.

This Digest highlights how parents and teachers are important role models in connecting children with nature to promote their environmental stewardship and ease their eco-anxiety.

This Digest presents the numerous benefits of risk-taking in natural environments, while also calling attention to a marked reduction in risky outdoor play opportunities over the past decade.

This digest presents recommendations for addressing adolescent mental health through nature engagement

This Digest explores the community and environmental benefits of green schoolyards.

This Digest focuses on children with special needs and inclusion as a social justice issue.

This back-to-school issue addressed nature and social-emotional learning.

In this Digest, we feature neurobiological assessments and biomarker studies that investigate how nature impacts the brain and nervous system.

The studies in this Digest highlight the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in restoring culture, enhancing connection to nature, addressing colonialist consciousness and improving health.

This issue of the Digest focuses on youth involvement in the planning and implementation of nature-related initiatives.

This Digest offers evidence-based suggestions for using nature to promote the mental health and resilience of children impacted by adversity.

This issue of the Research Digest focuses on early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS), a relatively new area of interest internationally at the intersection of environmental education (EE), education for sustainable development (ESD) and early childhood education (ECE).