Research

Children in rural America struggle to find time and space to play. How can rural families add more play into their children’s lives without needing a playground?

Authors Lea Ann Christenson, PhD, and Jenny James, MA, have created an easy to read, thought provoking book, complete with descriptive photos from a real outdoor preschool classroom, for teachers interested in bringing nature-based learning to their young learners.

Dr. Julie Ernst created the Flourishing in Nature Research Briefs to summarize her series of studies that investigate the impact of nature preschool on young children’s development, learning, and well-being. The research briefs highlight outcomes such as creative thinking, protective factors associated with resilience, curiosity, executive function skills, physical activity, empathy, learning behaviors, peer play interactions, and vocabulary.

This systematic review of 25 years of empirical studies of early childhood environmental education revealed strongly positive outcomes in environmental literacy development, cognitive development, social and emotional development, physical development and language and literacy development.

An infographic created by the National Environmental Education Foundation giving facts about why being active in nature makes kids healthier. Free printable download in English and Spanish, as a JPEG or PDF.

A peer-reviewed open-access electronic journal promoting early childhood environmental education for global readership and action.

These abstracts and studies from the Children & Nature Network summarize research supporting the benefits of connecting children to nature. Abstracts include an executive summary of each research report; full citation; and a PDF if available, or a link to each study in its entirety, or contact information if the study is not available online.

This position paper from early Dimensions Foundation work describes a rationale for developmentally appropriate environmental education. A short synopsis of research describes the factors contributing to children’s disconnection from the natural world.

This InfoSheet discusses the benefits of connecting children to nature and presents examples of simple ways to naturalize outdoor learning environments in childcare centers.