It’s a refrain that kids have heard from their parents for generations: “Go outside and play. It’ll be good for you.” Little did we know as children how valuable that advice was. Science has shown that parental wisdom to be more accurate than we realized. Study after study after study has now shown that there are multiple health benefits to spending time in nature.
Sara L. Warber, MD, professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan and an honorary associate professor at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter in the U.K., has been studying the benefits of spending time in nature for years. Through her and other scientists’ research, they’ve found four main areas humans benefit from as a result of spending time in nature.
More here – FastCompany
TIME TO HITCH UP THE CARAVAN
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
-Albert Einstein
A study from Florey institute (Australia) was looking at the amount of “green” volume and area within school grounds and then mapping this against school performance. They found that increasing the amount of grass, trees and plants within a school could create a passive effect of about 5% per year on school performance, accounting for social demographic backgrounds and other variables known to impact student learning.
I am not at work so can not source the study but it is supported by another Queensland study showing that giving students a day a week to be in nature as part of their curriculum also had considerable impact on performance above that accounted for social demographic factors etc.
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4099330.htm
Unfortunately the government education building revolution did not take any of these studies into account and filled in open yard spaces with buildings.