NAAEE

Concerns about decreasing connectedness to nature have prompted different interventions for adults and children. One such intervention referred to as “Three Good Things in Nature” has proven effective with adults. This study assessed the impact of this intervention on children. It also explored the relationships between nature connectedness, pro-nature conservation behavior, life satisfaction, and mindfulness in children.

Two groups of children – an experimental group and a control group – participated in this study, with approximately 80 children (age 9-11) in each group. The experimental group wrote about three good things they noticed in nature each day over a period of five days. The control group wrote about any three things they noticed each day over a period of five days. Both groups completed questionnaires at three different time points: before, immediately after and two months after the writing task. Items on the questionnaires assessed nature connectedness, life satisfaction, pro-conservation behavior, environmental perceptions and mindfulness.

Results at time two (immediately after the writing task) showed that nature connectedness was significantly higher for the nature writing group than the control group. Results at the 2-month follow-up, however, showed no significant differences in nature connectedness for the two groups. The nature writing group showed greater increases in pro-nature conservation behaviors at both time two and three than the control group. The writing tasks did not alter mindfulness and life satisfaction outcomes. Further data analysis showed that nature connectedness and environmental perceptions predicted pro-nature conservation behavior, while nature connectedness and mindfulness predicted life satisfaction.

This research indicates that interventions designed to increase nature connectedness may also promote pro-nature behaviors and life satisfaction in children. For a sustained increase in nature connection in children, however, the intervention may need to extend over a longer period of time or be repeated periodically.