Can access to nature lead to smarter, kinder children and communities?

The average American child spends four to seven minutes a day playing outside, and more than seven hours a day in front of a computer, tablet, phone, TV, or other type of screen, according to the Child Mind Institute. What impact does this have on learning, social skills, and health? Among the consequences of children spending less time outdoors are increasing obesity rates, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, and a lack of appreciation and understanding of the world around them, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

This so-named “nature deficit disorder” may have far-reaching effects on not only the individual, but the community at large. A study recently published in the journal BioScience found that contact with nature – both for adults and children – is associated with stronger communities and lower crime rates.

Connecting the outdoors to inner values

While much of this is not news to NH Audubon’s educators, biologists, naturalists, volunteers, and counselors, emphasizing the profound impact that nature – or the lack thereof – has on childhood development is a welcome priority.

“Children are naturally curious, and when they have the opportunity to explore nature, ask questions, and experience the environment firsthand, the outcomes are exemplary,” said Kevin Wall, NH Audubon’s director of education, licensed educator and faculty at Plymouth State University. “We see it in the statistical research, we see it when campers come back to our nature summer camp year after year, and we hear about how it influences how kids respect nature and each other.”

NH Audubon, with four centers across the state and dozens of community partnerships, connected with 18,675 students in 2014, through its 450 environmental education programs that include school-based programs, seasonal camps, and nature events that help advance environmental awareness and stewardship.

Two of those students are Bella, 6, and Kai, 8, of Concord. The siblings attended NH Audubon’s summer camp program at the McLane Center in Concord in 2015. Outdoorsy to begin with, they are now beginning to connect their actions directly with their environment and their responsibility to care for it.

“We never get a blank stare when we ask how their day at camp was,” said Bella and Kai’s mother, Alyssa McClary of Concord. “We hear about the salamanders that Bella found during the day’s hike; how she and her brother learned that it’s important to be respectful because it’s a part of nature.”

Those connections are exactly what Angie Krysiak, NH Audubon’s program director, hopes for when planning curriculum for campers and students.

“While we want to advance ecological awareness and have fun with the many safe, hands-on learning opportunities NH Audubon offers, spending time in nature also connects children to the community that nurtures them,” said Krysiak, who began her career with NH Audubon as a summer camp counselor in 2006. “Programs that get kids playing and thinking outdoors foster a collaborative, non-competitive atmosphere and builds skills and values that stay with campers their entire lives.”

Opportunities to explore

NH Audubon offers nature camps February 22-26, April 25-29, and weekly summer sessions June 27 through August 19 at both the McLane Audubon Center on Silk Farm Road in Concord, and at Massabesic Audubon Center in Auburn. Camperships (scholarships for campers) are available. Click here to learn more about Audubon summer camps. Both centers also offer nature preschools, sessions for homeschool students, field trips, and other unique opportunities throughout the year for children and adults to learn from and experience nature. View the full lineup and calendar of events at nhaudubon.org.

For more information about summer camps, programs, or how NH Audubon is helping connect kids to environmental education, please contact Kevin Wall at 603-225-9909 or kwall@nhaudubon.org.