The importance of Forest School and the pathways to nature connection

Abstract

Over the past 25 years Forest School in the UK has been growing in popularity as part of a wider resurgence of interest in outdoor learning. A key driver behind this recurrence of interest has been a growing concern over the lack of child exposure to outdoor experiences and with the natural world and their ensuing nature-deficit disorder. This article considers Forest School as linked with the concept of nature connection that is the sensation of belonging to a wider natural community. This sense of belonging developed by being in nature can also be a key factor in promoting attachment and sense of place which in turn is associated with the promotion of health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. As such the origins towards achieving nature connection are a formal part of the Forest School Association's (FSA 2016). Forest School principals, with growing research linking Forest School and nature connection as concomitant. Recent work has suggested that contact, emotion, meaning, compassion, and beauty are key pathways for the formation of nature connection and there is a strong need to better understand children's nature connection in this context. Further, from the premise that what goes on in spaces and places is fundamentally linked to both social and spatial processes, this article also attempts to understand the spatialities of Forest School in order to frame the development of nature connection within a socio-spatial analytic.

Methodological Considerations for Movement Education Interventions in Natural Environments for Primary School Children: A Scoping Review

“…The Forest School concept, which was first adopted in the United Kingdom in 1993, is increasing in popularity, thus outlining the interest in these programs [39]. The Forest School aims to foster relational and meaningmaking opportunities with nature connectedness and promotes health, wellbeing, and pro-environmental outcomes [40]. Forest Schools, such as outdoor learning programs, seem to facilitate children's growth acting through the promotion of intrinsic motivation and positive functional outcomes, as suggested by self-determination theory [41].…”

“…Finally, a natural school ground design increased children's academic attainment [25]. All these positive outcomes could be explained by children being more intrinsically motivated to learn during the intervention in nature [40]. This has important similarities with the principles of scouting, which aims to promote the learning of skills by adopting nature as a school [42].…”

Children’s Three Voices: An Exploration of Indian Students’ Meaning-Making of Nature & Place

“…Rabia was fascinated by the multitude of new creatures she encountered at the Muttukadu beach. Sustained contact with the natural places in Chennai created a sense of peace and reinforced a sense of belonging (Cudworth & Lumber, 2021;Tuan, 1990). However, Musa expressed a sense of 'restlessness' because he was overwhelmed by all that he saw.…”

Children’s Three Voices: An Exploration of Indian Students’ Meaning-Making of Nature & Place

“…Rabia was fascinated by the multitude of new creatures she encountered at the Muttukadu beach. Sustained contact with the natural places in Chennai created a sense of peace and reinforced a sense of belonging (Cudworth & Lumber, 2021;Tuan, 1990). However, Musa expressed a sense of 'restlessness' because he was overwhelmed by all that he saw.…”