Garden affordances for social learning, play, and for building nature–child relationship

Laaksoharju, Taina; Rappe, Erja; Kaivola, Taina

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2012.01.003

Cited by 71 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Samborksi (21) found children with more biodiverse schoolyards engaged in more interactive play and were more nature-oriented. Children's existing predilection to spending time in gardens could be enhanced by supporting family gardening with combined benefits of improved mental well-being, local biodiversity, and nature connection (47).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of urban gardens in supporting children's biophilia

Hand

Freeman

Seddon

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

112

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Exposure to and connection with nature is increasingly recognized as providing significant well-being benefits for adults and children. Increasing numbers of children growing up in urban areas need access to nature to experience these benefits and develop a nature connection. Under the biophilia hypothesis, children should innately affiliate to nature. We investigated children's independent selection of spaces in their neighborhoods in relation to the biodiversity values of those spaces, in three New Zealand cities, using resource-selection analysis. Children did not preferentially use the more biodiverse areas in their neighborhoods. Private gardens and yards were the most preferred space, with the quality of these spaces the most important factor defining children's exposure to nature. Children's reliance on gardens and yards for nature experiences raises concerns for their development of a nature connection, given disparities in biodiversity values of private gardens in relation to socioeconomic status, and the decline in sizes of private gardens in newer urban developments.biophilia | children | urban biodiversity | resource selection | home range

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of urban gardens in supporting children's biophilia

Hand

Freeman

Seddon

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…From an Ecological Dynamics viewpoint, green PA is PA resulting from the utilisation of affordances that emerge from people's direct interactions with natural environments. These interactions are proposed to lead to multi-dimensional responses in humans [24].…”

Section: Green Physical Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecological Dynamics suggests that constraints are related to each individual, task or the environment which interact to shape behaviours including perceptions, emotions, cognitions and actions [24]. Humans perceive affordances directly from their surroundings and pick up opportunities or invitations for behaviours.…”

Section: An Ecological Dynamics Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, behaviour develops as a result of multiple interacting sub-systems in human beings. It is important to note that analysis of human behaviours should include physical actions and psychological responses such as thoughts, emotions, feelings and social interactions [24]. For example, when people swim in the ocean, the environment offers a cooling place to swim in hot weather, but may bring out feelings of excitement, fear, and exhaustion.…”

Section: Ecological Dynamics: a Suitable Framework For Green Physicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In all individuals, experience and exploration in nature environments can stimulate their cognition, emotional wellbeing, psychosocial skills and motor development across the lifespan [24]. Ecological Dynamics provides a comprehensive theoretical framework to examine effects of green PA and other influential factors, such as different age groups, various levels of engagement, diverse nature environments, activity duration, type and degrees of PA and skill levels of performers.…”

Section: Current Focus Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical, Psychological and Emotional Benefits of Green Physical Activity: An Ecological Dynamics Perspective

et al. 2015

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Increasing evidence supports the multiple benefits to physical, psychological and social wellbeing, of green physical activity, a topic of increasing interest in the past decade. Evidence has revealed a synergistic benefit of green physical activity, which includes all aspects of exercise and physical activity in the presence of nature.Our theoretical analysis suggests that there are three distinct levels of engagement in green physical activity, with each level reported to have a positive effect on human behaviours. However, the extent to each level of green physical activity benefits health and wellbeing is assumed to differ and requires confirmation in future research. This elucidation of understanding is needed because previous literature has tended to focus on recording empirical evidence, rather than developing a sound theoretical framework to understand green physical activity effects. Here we propose an Ecological Dynamics rationale to explain how and why green physical activity might influence health and wellbeing of different population groups. This framework suggests that there are a number of unexplored constraints related to types of environment and population groups which shape reported levels of benefit of green physical activity. Further analysis is needed to clarify the explicit relationship between green physical activity and health and wellbeing, including levels of engagement, types of environmental constraints, levels of physical activity, adventure effects, skill levels and sampling of different populations. Key points Previous literature has typically undertaken an operational analysis of the benefits of physical activity undertaken in nature and future work needs to understand how and why green physical activity might influence health and wellbeing with a multidisciplinary rationale.  Further investigation of interacting constraints on green physical activity effects is needed, including levels of engagement, types of environment, level of physical activity, adventure, skill levels and groups.  An Ecological Dynamics framework has the potential to provide principles for the design of green physical activity programmes as well as experiments on this topic.3

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