a connection with nature.
A strong bond with nature as a child has a multitude of benefits.
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Amicone, G., Petruccelli, I., De Dominicis, S., Gherardini, A., Costantino, V., Perucchini, P., & Bonaiuto, M. (2018). Green Breaks: The Restorative Effect of the School Environment’s Green Areas on Children’s Cognitive Performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1579.
Asah, Bengston, Westphal, Gowan. (2017). Mechanisms of Children’s Exposure to Nature: Predicting Adulthood Environmental Citizenship and Commitment to Nature Based Activities. Environment & Behavior. 1-30.
Barrera-Hernández, L. F., Sotelo-Castillo, M. A., Echeverría-Castro, S. B., & Tapia-Fonllem, C. O. (2020). Connectedness to nature: Its impact on sustainable behaviors and happiness in children. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00276
Berk, L. (2006). Child Development, Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon
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Capra, F. (2005). “Preface: How Nature Sustains the Web of Life.” Stone, M. K., & Barlow, Z. (Eds.) Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World (p. xiii-xv). San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.
Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature, 2(3), 619–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10128
Chawla, L. & Litt (2013). Improving Health and Wellness through Access to Nature. American Public Health Association. Policy # 20137.
Ernst, J. (2017). Exploring Young Children’s and Parents’ Preferences for Outdoor Play Settings and Affinity toward Nature. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 5(2), 30–45.
Faber Taylor, A., Wiley, A., Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (1998). Growing up in the inner city: green spaces as places to grow. Environment & Behavior, 30, 3–27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916598301001
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Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 305.
Louv, R. (2006). The Best of Intentions: Why Johnnie and Jeannie don’t play outside anymore. Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature deficit disorder. (pp. 114 – 144). Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.
The Nature of Americans – a 2019 study of families’ barriers and access to nature. https://natureofamericans.org/
Nicholson, S. (1971). How not to cheat children: The Theory of Loose Parts. Landscape Architecture, 62, 30-34.
Ohly, H., Gentry, S., Wigglesworth, R. et al. 2016. A systematic review of the health and well-being impacts of school gardening: Synthesis of quantitative and qualitative evidence. BMC Public Health, 16: 286.
Sobel, D. (2008). Global Climate Change Meets Ecophobia. In Childhood and nature: Design principles for educators. essay, Stenhouse Publishers.
Sobel, D., Stires, A., Bailie, P. E., Fritz, R. W., Finch, K., & Kenny, E. K. (2016). Nature preschools and Forest Kindergartens: The Handbook for Outdoor Learning. Redleaf Press.
Taylor, A. F., & Butts-Wilmsmeyer, C. (2020). Self-regulation gains in kindergarten related to frequency of green schoolyard use. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 70, 101440.
van Dijk-Wesselius, J.E., Maas, J., Hovinga, D.A., van Vugt, M., & van den Berg, A.E. (2018). The impact of greening schoolyards on the appreciation, and physical, cognitive and social-emotional well-being of schoolchildren: A prospective intervention study. Landscape and Urban Planning.
Sue Waite, Fatima Husain, Berenice Scandone, Emma Forsyth & Hannah Piggott (2021): ‘It’s not for people like (them)’: structural and cultural barriers to children and young people engaging with nature outside schooling, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, DOI:10.1080/14729679.2021.1935286
Wells, N. & Lekies, K. (2006). Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature Experiences to Adult Environmentalism. Children, Youth and Environments, 16(1), 1-24. (read pages 13-15)
Wells, N. M., & Evans, G. W. (2003). Nearby Nature: A Buffer of Life Stress among Rural Children. Environment and Behavior, 35(3), 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916503035003001
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