How did children feel about learning in a forest garden?

Details

As cities become denser, green spaces disappear and children spend less time outdoors. Research suggests these conditions contribute to health problems and a lack of ecological literacy. To reverse these trends, localities are creating urban green spaces for children to visit during school time.

Drawing on ideas in ecological literacy, this study explored schoolchildren’s perspectives on a forest garden, an outdoor educational setting that had previously received little research attention. Researchers collected data through walk-and-talk conversations and informal interviews with 28 children aged 7 to 9.

Many children expressed strong positive feelings about the forest garden, the organized and spontaneous activities there, and caring for the organisms living there. The researchers observed three aspects of learning in the data that could potentially benefit the development of ecological literacy: practical competence, learning how to co-exist and care, and biological knowledge and ecological understanding.