Sally Gillespie
by Dr Sally Gillespie
If we want our children to thrive through their education there is no better activity to do than take children out of the constraints of stuffy cramped classrooms into the natural world. Outdoor learning provides children with ample opportunity to explore, observe and investigate the world they live in. It is a form of education that not only provides vital lessons about what sustains life – air, water, food and biodiversity – but also boosts children’s physical prowess, emotional wellbeing and academic performance.
For children with special needs who struggle to sit still for long hours in an indoor setting, outdoor learning can provide a great boost to learning capacity, social skills and the development of motor skills. For example, one recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology showed a decrease in ADHD symptoms and an increase in attentiveness and sociability in children who experienced higher levels of light exposure recorded.
It is concerning that recent research shows that Australian parents are wary of letting their kids loose in the outside world. A 2022 Royal Children’s Hospital national child health poll found that although 94% of parents recognised the benefit of play for a child’s physical well-being and brain development, less than half of Australian children play outdoors most days, and a third of parents did not think it was good for play to involve risk.
In a world that is increasingly challenging, children need the multiple benefits of outdoor education and play to help build their confidence, resilience, wellbeing and ability to focus, as well as to develop a “hands on” understanding of our natural world. Prof Tonia Gray, senior researcher at the Centre for Educational Research at Western Sydney University, argues nature that should be “front and centre” in early childhood, with benefits including curiosity and creativity, flexibility and strength, and the development of teamwork and resilience. “Nature and play make an amazing superfood,” she says. “We are biologically hardwired to nature, but we tend to have lost that with indoor, air-conditioned, sterilised life…. We are diluting risk in childhood [when we] need children to become risk technicians.”
If we want to help our children negotiate the perils of climate and ecological crises, economic insecurity and food shortages, we need to teach them how the world works and how central our planet’s care and healing are for our wellbeing. These lessons feed the innate sense of wonder that children bring into the world while helping them mentally, physically and emotionally mature.
Here are a few starting ideas about what you as a parent can do to see your child gets the benefits of outdoor education:
- Check out if there are any bush kindergardens or schools that are accessible for you. Some may even run as out-of-school programmes. Even a few hours a week can offer valuable benefits.
- Lobby your child’s school for more outdoor education and excursions. Parental understanding and support of the benefits of this is vital in implementing curriculum changes.
- Look for after-school and holiday programmes which have an outdoor focus.
- Prioritise outdoor activities for your kids both after school and on weekends.
