The report found that overall, the benefits students receive from spending time in nature—including physical health, mental well-being and improved educational outcomes—vary somewhat depending on the grade level, size, location and richness of the watershed.
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The important thing is that being in nature is not only beneficial for students, but also for teachers. Teachers benefit from outdoor learning in terms of increased job satisfaction, which also includes positive effects on teaching and professional development.
The report includes case studies of schools that have successfully integrated nature into their curriculum, and offers practical advice on how more schools can adopt it. Based on the findings, WWF wants to support all schools to provide regular nature experiences, and the charity will be key to realizing this vision.
Opportunities for students to experience nature at school can occur as part of class time, free time, or more formally through school field trips, extracurricular activities, and clubs. It doesn’t have to be expensive and can be included in a wide range of subjects.
But less than a third of schools in England say they include outdoor learning in their curriculum for all their students.
Incorporating outdoor learning into the curriculum means teachers plan when, how, and what to teach outside the classroom, and it’s a way to include nature in students’ learning process.
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If students want to access nature in their free time, they need to have a natural environment or natural elements within the school. However, half of schools in England say that students do not have regular opportunities to spend free time at school or play in a nature-rich environment.
According to the report, the most common ways to access nature are through school field trips or extracurricular activities and clubs, with a quarter of schools reporting that school field trips to natural environments are conducted annually for all or nearly all students.
School field trips and extracurricular nature-based activities are important, but rare and optional. Parents and schools alike are modifying their participation in school field trips due to the cost-of-living crisis, and voluntary activities are more likely to attract students who are already involved in or interested in nature.
Rather than addressing inequalities across educational levels and socioeconomic factors, elective activities may actually exacerbate existing inequalities.
We know that spending time in nature is good for us, and there is growing evidence that when children and young people connect with nature through their learning, there are wide-ranging positive outcomes for students, teachers, and nature.
Mental Wellbeing: According to experts, the mental wellbeing of children and young people has worsened in recent years. On the other hand, a recent report found that children who participated in outdoor learning showed greater resilience, improved self-esteem, and increased self-efficacy. Overall, children who experienced nature-rich immersive learning were more likely to feel better about themselves, which improved their wellbeing.
Improved Achievement: Students are more motivated, less stressed, more positive and achieve better educational outcomes when they learn in a natural environment. Teachers also report that disruptive behaviors are reduced, allowing students to focus on their work, and this is beneficial for students who struggle in traditional classroom-based settings.
Benefits for teachers: Survey data from the largest outdoor-based learning project commissioned in the UK found that 72% of project schools reported a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of their teachers. Most teachers who participated in the study said it had a positive impact on their teaching and professional development, and that their job satisfaction had increased. Teachers also reported feeling less stressed by spending time outside the classroom and engaging with nature.
Benefits of nature: The UK is among the top 10% of the world’s most depleted countries, with more than 40% of our species in decline. [9]. If the next generation is to take action to care for, protect, and restore nature, they must first develop a relationship with the natural world around them. Learning from nature and learning about nature in school are essential to fostering this relationship.
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Brendan Montague is the editor. Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from WWF.
