Nature

Minimum Time Dose in Nature to Positively Impact the Mental Health of College-Aged Students, and How to Measure It: A Scoping Review

Across the U.S., college and university students exhibit high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. While counseling, medications and, in more severe cases, hospitalization are all appropriate treatments for such conditions, an increasing body of evidence has demonstrated that spending time in nature can provide tangible benefits for mental health and well-being.

Read More Minimum Time Dose in Nature to Positively Impact the Mental Health of College-Aged Students, and How to Measure It: A Scoping Review
Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review

Technological developments in recent decades have increased young people’s engagement with screen-based technologies (screen time), and a reduction in young people’s contact with nature (green time) has been observed concurrently. This combination of high screen time and low green time may affect mental health and well-being.

Read More Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review
Urban nature and physical activity: Investigating associations using self-reported and accelerometer data and the role of household income

Physical inactivity is a major public health concern. Natural, or semi-natural, environments may encourage physical activity, but the influences of socio-economic factors have been under-researched.

Read More Urban nature and physical activity: Investigating associations using self-reported and accelerometer data and the role of household income
How combinations of recreational activities predict connection to nature among youth

Connection to nature (CTN) can help promote environmental engagement requisite for addressing extreme environmental challenges. Current generations, however, may be less connected to nature than previous ones. Spending time in nature can counter this disconnect, particularly among children.

Read More How combinations of recreational activities predict connection to nature among youth
An evidence report on Covid-19 and children’s play

This report summarises emerging evidence on the effects of play restrictions in terms of a) reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the population and b) the detriments to children resulting from the restrictions.

Read More An evidence report on Covid-19 and children’s play
Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis

Humans may have evolved a need to connect with nature, and nature provides substantial cultural and social values to humans. However, quantifying the connection between humans and nature at a global scale remains challenging.

Read More Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis
Why Families Go Outside: An Exploration of Mothers’ and Daughters’ Family-Based Nature Activities

Mothers and daughters find spending time outdoors together strengthens communication and family connectedness Twenty-six mothers and daughters participated in semi-structured interviews focusing on their experiences with family-based nature activities (FBNA), defined as two or more family members engaging in outdoor recreation. The mother and daughter interviews were conducted simultaneously but in separate rooms. This arrangement…

Read More Why Families Go Outside: An Exploration of Mothers’ and Daughters’ Family-Based Nature Activities
Cognitive Restoration in Children Following Exposure to Nature: Evidence From the Attention Network Task and Mobile Eye Tracking

Exposure to nature improves cognitive performance through a process of cognitive restoration. However, few studies have explored the effect in children, and no studies have explored how eye movements “in the wild” with mobile eye tracking technology contribute to the restoration process. Our results demonstrated that just a 30-min walk in a natural environment was…

Read More Cognitive Restoration in Children Following Exposure to Nature: Evidence From the Attention Network Task and Mobile Eye Tracking
Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning

The urban environment has been criticized for promoting ‘nature-deficit’ and ‘child-nature disconnectedness’. Keeping in mind the importance of nature exposure and its extensive health benefits, many environmental programs around the world hope to (re)connect children with nature. To evaluate the effectiveness of such efforts, valid tools to measure Connectedness to Nature (CN) are needed but do not exist today, especially for use with pre-schoolers.

Read More Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning
Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: a systematic review

It is commonly believed that nature has positive impacts on children’s health, including physical, mental and social dimensions. This review focuses on how accessibility to, exposure to and engagement with nature affects the mental health of children and teenagers.

Read More Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: a systematic review
Vegetation diversity protects against childhood asthma: results from a large New Zealand birth cohort

Researchers assessed the association between the natural environment and asthma in 49,956 New Zealand children born in 1998 and followed up until 2016 using routinely collected data. Children who lived in greener areas, as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index, were less likely to be asthmatic.

Read More Vegetation diversity protects against childhood asthma: results from a large New Zealand birth cohort
Green writing: the influence of natural spaces on primary students’ poetic writing in the UK and Australia

This paper draws on findings of comparative international research on students’ poetic writing about the natural environment in the context of the classroom and a naturalistic setting. The study involved 97, nine- to 10-year-olds in four classes: two classes were in an English primary school with their counterparts in a Western Australian primary school.

Read More Green writing: the influence of natural spaces on primary students’ poetic writing in the UK and Australia

Nature

Minimum Time Dose in Nature to Positively Impact the Mental Health of College-Aged Students, and How to Measure It: A Scoping Review

Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review

Urban nature and physical activity: Investigating associations using self-reported and accelerometer data and the role of household income

How combinations of recreational activities predict connection to nature among youth

An evidence report on Covid-19 and children’s play

Why Families Go Outside: An Exploration of Mothers’ and Daughters’ Family-Based Nature Activities

Cognitive Restoration in Children Following Exposure to Nature: Evidence From the Attention Network Task and Mobile Eye Tracking

Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning

Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: a systematic review

Vegetation diversity protects against childhood asthma: results from a large New Zealand birth cohort

Green writing: the influence of natural spaces on primary students’ poetic writing in the UK and Australia

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