Spending Time in Nature Promotes Early Childhood Development

The latest research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) shows that children living in areas with access to increased greenspaces can set them up for greater success in life and help them meet their early years developmental milestones.

Researchers at the UBC faculty of forestry and faculty of medicine analyzed the developmental scores of 27,372 children in Metro Vancouver who attended kindergarten between 2005 and 2011.They looked at the amount of greenspace around each child's home from ages birth to five and also assessed traffic levels, community noise and air pollution. 

“Most of the children were doing well in their development, in terms of language skills, cognitive capacity, socialization and other outcomes,” says study author Ingrid JarvisI, a PhD candidate in the department of forest and conservation sciences at UBC. “But what’s interesting is that those children living in a residential location with more vegetation and richer natural environments showed better overall development than their peers with less greenspace.”

This is explained partly because of greenspaces’ ability to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution and noise—environmental challenges that have been shown to adversely affect children’s health and development through increased stress, sleep disturbances and central nervous system damage.

The study’s senior author and UBC research associate, Matilda van den Bosch, "Time in nature can benefit everyone, but if we want our children to have a good head start, it’s important to provide an enriching environment through nature contact. Access to greenspace from a very young age can help ensure good social, emotional and mental development among children.”

For more information on the study take a read here

To find inspiration on creating nature based spaces check out my Wanderlust Child Nature Study Programme here