What are your childhood memories of nature?  

Remembering those feelings of surprise and magic when we first saw the sea, or exploring woodlands and turning over a piece of rotting bark to see strange creepy crawlies scamper back into the undergrowth, how our memories influence the way we experience nature. How a cloud transformed into a dragon, which then transformed into a crocodile, an elephant, a witch, or a heart.

Every beetle was a new pet to be treasured, every snail was worthy of a cardboard house made of an empty shoebox filled with grass and leaves.  Every bird was watched quietly so it wouldn’t fly away. 

For most of us, memories of childhood are filled with care and love for nature.  We were astounded by things that may seem trivial to us now, if we even care to notice them at all. 

What is the nature of a child’s development?

Over the previous decade, various scientific research investigations and articles have thoroughly proved the benefits of connecting with nature. This collection of studies demonstrates that children's social, psychological, academic, and physical health improves when they contact nature on a regular basis. Dr. Kellert stated in 2005 that nature is essential to children's growth on all levels—intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically. According to Dr. Kuo and Dr. Taylor, children as young as five years old can benefit from exposure to nature, which can considerably lessen symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder.

“Green environments are an essential component of a healthy human habitat” according to Frances Ming Kuo, a researcher documenting the positive link between nature and human health, and social and psychological functioning. Kou summarizes various research studies that show that humans benefit from exposure to green environments (parks, forests, gardens, etc.) and conversely, people with less access to green places report more medical symptoms and poorer health overall. Kuo uses the phrase “Vitamin G” (G for “green”) to capture nature’s role as a necessary ingredient for a healthy life. Evidence suggests that, like a vitamin, contact with nature and green environments is needed in frequent, regular doses”.

Spending time in nature helps kids do better in school, in a number of surprising ways.

Source MING KUO 

Researchers have discovered that nature is not just good for kids’ health; it improves their ability to learn, too. Even small doses of nature can have profound benefits. When compared to traditional learning, nature-based instruction outperforms traditional instruction in academic settings and can improve academic achievement in schools. In a randomised controlled trial of school garden-based learning including over 3,000 pupils, kids gained more information than waitlist control classmates who completed conventional classrooms; additionally, the more garden-based instruction, the greater the gains.

Researchers have concluded that it is past time to take nature seriously as a learning and development resource. It's past time to integrate nature and nature-based pedagogy into formal education — to turn isolated efforts into more widespread practises. The benefits of school gardens, green schoolyards, and green walls in classrooms should be evaluated through action research. Teachers' efforts to hold classrooms outside, take regular field trips, and cooperate with area nature centres, farms, and forest preserves should be supported, not discouraged, by principals and school boards. Teachers who have pioneered nature-based learning should serve as role models and coaches, assisting others in overcoming obstacles and reaping the advantages.

Participating in field trips is a great way to enjoy a unique learning experience outside a classroom environment. Field trips are not only good fun, they allow students to absorb, interact and immerse themselves in a practical way. On a field trip, students are more likely to retain information. Being immersed in information and being involved in visual and practical experiences will help students remember, learn and understand subjects.

Starting Children young in nature

I remember vividly taking part in a litter picking afternoon in my local neighbourhood as a child.  Some of our parents had organised this and we were excited to search through hedges, bushes and grasslands to pick up any rubbish others had carelessly discarded. We were astounded by just how much we found and outraged by the disregard of others.  Ironically, many items had been thrown away just a few steps from a bin.  Unfortunately, even though the local newspaper made our efforts front page news, we never repeated the event.  One thing however stuck: The outrage, the anger, the disbelief of why people would just throw things away and don’t take home their rubbish, and an inability to ever just drop anything carelessly into nature.  My mother had educated me and it stuck.

Fast forward 30 years, and I have my own children.  Now, even more so than ever, instilling a deep love and care for nature with all its living beings, is the most important lesson we can teach them.  Whilst we are lucky to have schools and educators doing their part, we cannot rely on them alone to teach our children the importance of being gentle with life around us. 
If we have a picnic, we take all our rubbish home.  If something can be thrown in a nearby bin, then we do so, but if it can be recycled, we also take it home.  We talk about discarded rubbish others leave and they are outraged, because we taught them that it is wrong.  More recently, we took them on a river clean up near a local city.  It was cold, it was raining, it was grim.  But we persevered and pulled out the most absurd items others had simply dumped in the river.  The children voiced their outrage, they were angry and talked about it with their friends.  Whilst I am not a clairvoyant, I am fairly certain that my children will never litter and continue to do their bit for our planet when they are older. 

The same goes for other living beings on this planet. Many of us are not keen on spiders, wasps and other bugs.  It’s easy and convenient to swat, to stomp on and to kill them.  Our children see what we do and copy it, because they believe it’s the right thing to do.  It’s therefore up to us to challenge our own behaviour and rewrite the narrative.  If we pick up the spider and move it outside, if we lend the wasp a helping hand and guide it back to freedom, if we leave the bugs be and gently step over them, they will do the same and learn to accept them and to live in harmony.  What’s more, they will pass this behaviour on to others and future generations.