How do we teach kids to care about protecting the environment? There are lots of ideas out there, everything from planting trees to sponsoring creative recycling projects. But I suspect there is one tactic that trumps everything else: Get kids to play outside and discover the natural world on their own terms.
It’s basic psychology. People want to hang onto the things they love. If kids get to experience the rush of exploring, the pleasure of free play with dirt, rocks, streams, and trees, they’ll have a personal stake in conservation. If they stay on the couch, the natural world will remain an abstraction, and all the preaching in the world may have little impact.
For evidence, consider a study by Nancy Wells and Kristi Lekies. The researchers interviewed more than 2000 adults across the United States, and found that childhood experiences of wild nature – like hiking and playing in the woods – predicted an adult’s pro-environmental attitudes. Such experiences also had a direct impact on pro-environmental behaviors.
By contrast, participating in childhood education programs had no effect.
Such studies don’t prove that playing outdoors, in wild places, will turn your child into a conservationist. But we ought to see these results as a wake-up call. By itself, environmental education did nothing to change kids. What really mattered was growing up with a personal connection to the natural world.
Getting outside, then, might be a crucial prerequisite for developing a conservationist outlook. And it might save our kids from the perils of inactivity. According to an American survey, almost 70% of mothers think their kids are playing outside less often than the mothers themselves did when they were children. Perhaps this explains international observations that tweens and teens are spending so much of their leisure time (between 4 to 7 hours a day) in purely sedentary activities. They don’t go outdoors.
Then there are the psychological benefits of nature. Nancy Wells argues that just looking at natural scenes helps stressed-out kids cope, and the more wilderness they see, the bigger the effect. Exposure to the natural world has also been linked with better moods, better focus, and higher levels of self-discipline.
And what about the benefits of climbing trees and jumping across steam beds? As I’ve noted elsewhere, some educators think kids need risky, outdoor play to hone spatial skills, overcome fears, and learn about handling potentially dangerous situations.
So we have a lot to gain by sending children outdoors — if we leave them there long enough to figure things out for themselves. Some kids are so accustomed to electronic entertainment and organized activities, they may not know what to do with themselves. But given time, and permission to get dirty, they may discover the joy of free play in a natural environment…and the value of keeping wild spaces wild.
For tips on getting kids outdoors, see Andrea Updyke’s free e-book, published in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation.
Where does your child play?
Looking for fun ways to introduce your little one to Earth Day? How about a craft or project?
Image of dandelion girl: andreusk / Thinkstock
Image of girl in the woods: Betsy Shaw