Research on Learning Outdoors
The case for outdoor education has been made for years by an increasing number of educators and scientists, and is backed by research from various sources. Here is a collection of research and resources that we hope to continue building. Let us know if you want to contribute research resources by contacting us.
SUPPORT FOR GETTING KIDS OUTDOORS IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
There is precedent in the State of Illinois for supporting outdoor time for kids. In 2005, the General Assembly passed a bill to show support for the Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights and designates the month of June as "Leave No Child Inside Month" in the State of Illinois.
Read the Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights here, published by the Chicago Wilderness Leave No Child Inside initiative.
RESEARCH RESOURCES
Natural Start Alliance
The Natural Start Alliance puts out the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, and has collected summaries of a variety of relevant research including:
Benefits of Connecting Children with Nature: Why Naturalize Outdoor Learning Environments by the Natural Learning Initiative, January 2012
Helping Children Learn to Love the Earth Before We Ask Them to Save It: Developmentally Appropriate Environmental Education for Young Children by Dimensions for Educational Research Foundation
The Children & Nature Network
The Children & Nature Network provides a wealth of research including:
Health Benefits to Children From Contact with the Outdoors and Nature -a summary from four volumes of C&NN research.
Children's Nature Deficit: What We Know and Don't Know by Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., and Richard Louv, September 2009
Children's Contact with the Outdoors and Nature: A Focus on Educators and Educational Settings- a summary from four volumes of C&NN research.
Outdoor Childhood Education Programs IN THE NEWS
Can Climbing Trees Replace Preparing for Tests? Nature-based preschools are becoming increasingly popular. But what are they are they and are they effective? By Katherine Martinelli, New York Times, August 15, 2019
REI Presents: In Our Nature - Ep 3 Are Forest Preschools the way of the future?, October 17, 2019 (This is a 12 minute video that explores the forest preschools in Washington, Colorado, and references the now-closed Forest Playschool in Chicago)
The Spread of Outdoor Preschools raises questions about the purpose of education, by Annabelle Timsit, Quartz, October 28, 2019
Washington becomes first in nation to license outdoor preschools by Elise Takaham, Seattle Times, October 2, 2019,
Why our kids need forests for true learning, by Linda Akeson McGurk, Market Watch, October 26, 2019
The Ultimate Guide to Forest Kindergarten Schools in the US --on mamoo.kids.com, published in August, 2017
SMCOE ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE-organization website supporting sustainability schooling and outdoor education
BOOKS
Children and Nature: Psychological, Sociocultural and Evolutionary Investigations by Peter H. Kahn, Jr. & Stephen R. Kellert, 2002
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, 2005
Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens: The Handbook for Outdoor Learning, by David Sobel, 2016
For children, nature comes in many forms. A newborn calf; a pet that lives and dies; a worn path through the woods; a fort nested in stinging nettles; a damp, mysterious edge of a vacant lot—whatever shape nature takes, it offers each child an older, larger world separate . . . In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy . . . a separate peace.
— Richard Louv, Last Child in the Wood