Background: Low-income and non-white children experience disparities in health, education, and access to nature. These health disparities are often associated and exacerbated by inequities in the U.S. educational system. Recent research suggests that nature contact may reduce these health and educational disparities for urban lowincome populations. Nature-based education (NBE) uses nature contact to inspire curiosity and improve health. This study examines the health and educational outcomes of a 15-week NBE intervention for urban low-income, black and Hispanic children 10-15 years of age. Methods: Children (n = 122) completed a pre-intervention and post-intervention survey that addressed seven science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-capacity items (leadership, teamwork, science relevance, sustainability relevance, STEM self-efficacy, science interest, and overall STEM capacity) and six widely used health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) domains (physical health functioning, emotional health functioning, school functioning, social functioning, family functioning, and overall HRQoL). Focus groups with participating students and postintervention surveys of NBE mentors and teachers explored perceptions of the intervention impact. Results: There were statistically significant positive changes in STEM capacity and HRQoL for participating students. For example, children's overall STEM capacity and overall HRQoL scores improved by 44% and 46%, respectively (both p < 0.05). Qualitative data highlighted the intervention's educational and health benefits. Conclusions: These results support further research quantifying the effects of NBE on STEM capacity and HRQoL in urban, low-income, black and Hispanic children.

Exposure to lead has long been a community health concern in St. Louis, Missouri. The objective of this study was to examine public response to reports of elevated lead levels in school drinking water in St. Louis, Missouri via Twitter, a microblogging platform with over 320 million active users. We used a mixed-methods design to examine Twitter user status updates, known as “tweets,” from 18 August to 31 December 2016. The number of tweets each day was recorded, and Twitter users were classified into five user types (General Public, Journalist/News, Health Professional/Academic, Politician/Government Official, and Non-Governmental Organization). A total of 492 tweets were identified during the study period. The majority of discourse on Twitter occurred during the two-week period after initial media reports and was driven by members of the General Public. Thematic analysis of tweets revealed four themes: Information Sharing, Health Concerns, Sociodemographic Disparities, and Outrage. Twitter users characterized lead in school drinking water as an issue of environmental inequity. The findings of this study provide evidence that social media platforms can be utilized as valuable tools for public health researchers and practitioners to gauge public sentiment about environmental health issues, identify emerging community concerns, and inform future communication and research strategies regarding environmental health hazards.

In the United States, there are substantial barriers to youth nature access and environmental education (EE). These barriers may lead to racial, geographic, and socioeconomic disparities in both nature contact and environmental awareness. This study investigated the impacts of a Photovoice EE intervention on the environmental perceptions, STEM-capacity, and environmental awareness of 335 low-income, urban youth (ages 9–15). Youth were assigned to one of two intervention groups, a Photovoice EE intervention group or an EE intervention group without a Photovoice activity, or a control group. The Photovoice activity revealed that participants perceived the environment in three major subthemes: social, natural, and built. Photovoice participants expressed both positive and negative sentiments toward their environment. After the EE intervention, Photovoice participants experienced greater improvements in STEM-capacity scores than those who participated in the EE intervention without the Photovoice activity ( p = .04). Further, EE participants experienced improved STEM-capacity and environmental awareness scores ( p < .001), while a control group of youth who did not participate in the EE intervention did not experience any significant improvements in STEM-capacity or environmental awareness. Study results suggest that the Photovoice activities may be associated with improved learning outcomes. Larger intervention studies are necessary to confirm the benefits of Photovoice in Environmental Education.

Background Nature experiences have been shown to promote physical, emotional, mental and overall health. However, low-income youth often face inequities in access to nature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a 15-week nature-based education (NBE) intervention on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of low-income youth. Methods A total of 362 low-income youth (ages 9–15) in St. Louis, MO, USA, participated in this study. Study participants completed a pre- and post-intervention survey that included validated measures of six HRQoL domains (Physical Activity, Emotional Health Functioning, School Functioning, Social Functioning, Family Functioning and overall HRQoL). Random effects analysis of covariance was used to test for significant differences in HRQoL scores between the intervention and control groups, after adjusting for school, age, previous nature exposure, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics capacity. Results After the intervention period, youth in the NBE intervention group experienced improvements in all HRQoL domain scores (P &lt; 0.001), whereas youth in the control group experienced declines in HRQoL domain scores (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions NBE may have a positive impact on the HRQoL of low-income youth. Further investigations examining the influence of nature-based activities on youth health outcomes are warranted.

Youth growing up in places with more greenspaces have better developmental outcomes. The literature on greenspace and youth development is largely cross-sectional, thus limited in terms of measuring development and establishing causal inference. We conducted a systematic review of prospective, longitudinal studies measuring the association between greenspace exposure and youth development outcomes measured between ages two and eighteen. We searched Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Environment Complete, and included prospective cohort, quasi-experimental, and experimental studies on greenspace and youth development. Study quality was assessed using a 10-item checklist adapted from a previously published review on greenspace and health. Twenty-eight studies met criteria for review and were grouped into five thematic categories based on reported outcomes: cognitive and brain development, mental health and wellbeing, attention and behavior, allergy and respiratory, and obesity and weight. Seventy-nine percent of studies suggest an association between greenspace and improved youth development. Most studies were concentrated in wealthy, Western European countries, limiting generalizability of findings. Key opportunities for future research include: (1) improved uniformity of standards in measuring greenspace, (2) improved measures to account for large latency periods between greenspace exposure and developmental outcomes, and (3) more diverse study settings and populations.