An arts-in-nature program helps children connect with nature and appreciate nature’s contribution to their own wellbeingThe term “nature visibilisation” was defined in this paper as “a new and meaningful appreciation for one’s natural environment and the life which inhabits it is enhanced”. Concerns about children’s increasing mental health disorders and a decrease in their engagement with nature led a team of researchers and practitioners to develop an intervention program designed to promote nature visibilisation. This program -- the “Eco-Capabilities project” – uses arts-based activities to help children develop meaningful relationships with nature, particularly with plants and animals.
A total of 101 children (age 7-10) from two primary schools in England took part in the Eco-Capabilities project. Both schools are located in areas of high deprivation. The participating children spent eight full days of arts-in-nature activities over a period of eight consecutive weeks. The activities – which included drawing, sculpturing, poetry, music making, storytelling, and performances -- were led by professional artists affiliated with an arts and wellbeing organization in England. Guided reflections and conversations with the children throughout the project were designed to help the children feel part of the more-than-human world and understand emerging environmental issues. Ninety-seven of the children completed two related activities before and after they participated in the arts-in-nature program. The aim of these was activities was to determine the potential of the nature-based activities for promoting nature visibilisation and to understand the processes through which this might occur. These activities consisted of children making drawings of happy places and participating in small group discussions about spaces they felt connected to and disconnected from, as well as spaces they associated with fear. Additional information gathered through observations, field notes, interviews with the teachers and artists, and children’s creative diaries was also used in evaluating the impact of the project.
An analysis of the children’s pre/post drawings showed a significant increase in the number of drawings which featured nature as either the main focus or as part of the background. Only 5.2% of the pre-intervention drawings included nature as a main focus; this increased to 29% in the post-intervention drawings. The drawings and the discussions with the children also indicated that the arts-in-nature program had a significant impact on how the children considered nature to be an important feature of their “happy place” and a major contributor to their wellbeing. Findings also indicated that “arts-in-nature practice supports nature visibilisation in three ways: by drawing newfound attention to nature; by attributing increased value to nature; and by explicitly placing nature within the purview of wellbeing.”
This research supports the idea that arts-in-nature activities can help children connect physically and emotionally with nature. This research also suggests that arts-in-nature activities can support the wellbeing of children, including children living in areas of high deprivation.
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