THE CHILDREN-NATURE RELATIONSHIP: CONTACT, COGNIZATION AND EMOTION
HUANG Xiang1,2
1. South China Ecological Civilization Research Center, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510632, China;
2. Edu-tourism and Recreation Education Research Center, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Abstract Nature can improve children physically and psychologically, as well as their identity and social relationship. The children-nature relationship is noted accelerated literature in children geographies research. However, there is no systematic review to organize the research framework of this particular field. ‘Children's Geographies’ along with other 82 geography journals in SSCI, and 12 geographical journals in CSSCI were employed to be the source database. "nature/natural" and "children/child" were key words to search for literatures. 54 highly related articles were selected after abstract reviewing process out of 113 targeted objects. Literatures related to children-nature relationship booted since 2015. Children's cognition of nature research includes the image of nature by children, as well as school nature and outdoor nature as educational space. Children's affection toward nature research include children's embodied experience of nature, the relationship between children, nature and agency, and factors might influence the children-nature affection. From life course theoretical perspectives, there will be three phases in someone's lifetime, namely the growing-up phase (children and adolescent), mature phase (youth and middle-age), decline phase (aged). This paper tried to understand how human beings contact, cognize and perceive nature growing up from geographical perspective. In this specific research field, researchers can assemble the following element to raise different questions, which are urban and suburban children, normal and disable children, school nature and outdoor nature, usual circumstances and unusual circumstances. Children, agents and nature are the three actors with contact, cognition and emotion as the three research themes in this field.
Linzmayer D C, Halpenny A E. ‘I might know when I'm an adult’:Making sense of children's relationships with nature[J]. Children's Geographies, 2014,12(4):412-428.
[2]
Bratman G N, Hamilton J P, Daily G C. The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health[J]. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2012,1249:118-136.
[3]
Bratman G N, Daily G C, Levy B J, et al. The benefits of nature experience:Improved affect and cognition[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2015,138:41-50.
[4]
Holloway S L, Valentine G. Children's Geographies:Glaying, Living, Learning[M]. London:Routledge, 2000:8-9.
[5]
Freeman C. Twenty-five years of children's geographies:A planner's perspective[J]. Children's Geographies, 2020,18(1):110-121.
[6]
陈淳,朱竑.冲突与协商:西方儿童地理学的发展及启示[J].热带地理,2015,35(4):489-497.[Chen Chun, Zhu Hong. Conflict and negotiation:A review on children's geographies in recent western geography[J]. Tropical Geography, 2015,35(4):489-497.]
[7]
王艳,边霞.西方儿童地理学的兴起:背景、代表人物、主题及启示[J].学前教育研究,2016(10):18-28.[Wang Yan, Bian Xia. The rise of western children's geographies:Background, representatives, themes and inspirations[J]. Studies in Early Childhood Education, 2016,262(10):18-28.]
[8]
Li D, Deal B, Zhou X, et al. Moving beyond the neighborhood:Daily exposure to nature and adolescents' mood[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018,173:33-43.
[9]
Rupprecht D D C, Byrne A J, Lo Y A. Memories of vacant lots:How and why residents used informal urban green space as children and teenagers in Brisbane, Australia, and Sapporo, Japan[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016,14(3):340-355.
[10]
Lillard A S, Lerner M D, Hopkins E J, et al. The impact of pretend play on children's development:A review of the evidence[J]. Psychological Bulletin, 2013,139(1):1-34.
[11]
Robertson N, Morrissey A M, Moore D. From boats to bushes:Environmental elements supportive of children's sociodramatic play outdoors[J]. Children's Geographies, 2020,18(2):234-246.
[12]
Gibson J J. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception[M]. Boston, MA:Houghton Mifflin, 1979:88.
[13]
Barker R C. Ecological Psychology:Concepts and Methods for Studying the Environment of Human Behavior[M]. Stanford, CA:Stanford University Press, 1968:53.
[14]
Refshauge D A, Stigsdotter K U, Lamm B. Evidence-based playground design:Lessons learned from theory to practice[J]. Landscape Research, 2015,40(2):226-246.
[15]
Veitch J, Salmon J, Deforche B, et al. Park attributes that encourage park visitation among adolescents:A conjoint analysis[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2017,161:52-58.
[16]
Bosco J F, Joassart-Marcelli P. Participatory planning and children's emotional labor in the production of urban nature[J]. Emotion, Space and Society, 2015,16:30-40.
[17]
Wake J S. In the best interests of the child':Juggling the geography of children's gardens (between adult agendas and children's needs)[J]. Children's Geographies, 2008,6(4):423-435.
[18]
Horton J. Disabilities, urban natures and children's outdoor play[J]. Social & Cultural Geography, 2017,18(8):1152-1174.
[19]
von Benzon N. Unruly children in unbounded spaces:School-based nature experiences for urban learning disabled young people in Greater Manchester, UK[J]. Journal of Rural Studies, 2017,51:240-250.
[20]
von Benzon N. Discussing nature, ‘doing’ nature:For an emancipatory approach to conceptualizing young people's access to outdoor green space[J]. Geoforum, 2018,93:79-86.
[21]
Layard R, Dunn J. A Good Childhood:Searching for Values in a Competitive Age:The Children's Society[M]. London:Penguin, 2009:124.
[22]
Freeman C, van Heezik Y, Stein A, et al. Technological inroads into understanding city children's natural life-worlds[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016,14(2):158-174.
[23]
Louv R. Last Child in the Woods:Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder[M]. Chapel Hill, N C:Algonquin Books, 2005:57.
[24]
Soga M, Gaston J K, Kubo T. Cross-generational decline in childhood experiences of neighborhood flowering plants in Japan[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018,174:55-62.
[25]
Rixon A, Lomax H, O'Dell L. Childhoods past and present:Anxiety and idyll in reminiscences of childhood outdoor play and contemporary parenting practices[J]. Children's Geographies, 2019,17(5):618-629.
[26]
Soga M, Yamanoi T, Tsuchiya K. What are the drivers of and barriers to children's direct experiences of nature?[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018,180:114-120.
[27]
Skar M, Krogh E. Changes in children's nature-based experiences near home:From spontaneous play to adult-controlled, planned and organized activities[J]. Children's Geographies, 2009,7(3):339-354.
[28]
Hand K L, Freeman C, Seddon P J. Restricted home ranges reduce children's opportunities to connect to nature:Demographic, environmental and parental influences[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018,172:69-77.
[29]
Rigolon A. Parks and young people:An environmental justice study of park proximity, acreage, and quality in Denver, Colorado[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2017,165:73-83.
[30]
Barton S K. Colorado's millennial generation:Youth perceptions and experiences of nature[J]. Journal of Geography, 2012,111(6):213-223.
[31]
Kuo F E. Nature-deficit disorder:Evidence, dosage, and treatment[J]. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 2013,5(2):172-186.
[32]
Zint T M, Covit A B, Dowd F P. Insights from an evaluability assessment of the U.S. forest service more kids in the woods initiative[J]. The Journal of Environmental Education, 2011,42(4):255-271.
[33]
Shultis J, More T. American and Canadian national park agency responses to declining visitation[J]. Journal of Leisure Research, 2011,43(1):110-132.
[34]
Tillmann S, Button B, Coen E S, et al. ‘Nature makes people happy, that's what it sort of means’:Children's definitions and perceptions of nature in rural Northwestern Ontario[J]. Children's Geographies, 2019,17(6):705-718.
[35]
Collado S, Iniguez-Rueda L, Corraliza A J. Experiencing nature and children's conceptualizations of the natural world[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016,14(6):716-730.
[36]
Adams S, Savahl S. Children's perceptions of the natural environment:A South African perspective[J]. Children's Geographies, 2015,13(2):196-211.
[37]
Lisewski-Hobson V, Watkins C. ‘My wood isn't one of those dark and scary ones’:Children's experience and knowledge of woodland in the English rural landscape[J]. Landscape Research, 2019,44(5):507-525.
[38]
Rantala O, Puhakka R. Engaging with nature:Nature affords wellbeing for families and young people in Finland[J]. Children's Geographies, 2020,18(4):490-503.
[39]
Wu C D, McNeely E, Cedeno-Laurent J, et al. Linking student performance in Massachusetts elementary schools with the "greenness" of school surroundings using remote sensing[J/OL].PLoS One, (2014-10-13)[2020-02-20]. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone. 0108548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108548.
[40]
Li D, Sullivan C W. Impact of views to school landscapes on recovery from stress and mental fatigue[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2016,148:149-158.
[41]
van Dijk-Wesselius J E, Maas J, Hovinga D, et al. The impact of greening schoolyards on the appreciation, and physical, cognitive and social-emotional well-being of schoolchildren:A prospective intervention study[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018,180:15-26.
[42]
Church F. Amenity as educator:Geographies of education, citizenship, and the CPRE in 1930s England[J]. Geographical Journal, 2019,185:258-267.
[43]
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) of United Kingdom. The natural choice:Securing the value of nature[EB/OL]. (2011-06-11)[2020-09-02]. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228842/8082.pdf.
[44]
Bates C. Rewilding education? Exploring an imagined and experienced outdoor learning space[J]. Children's Geographies, 2020,18(3):364-374.
[45]
Kraftl P. Ecological architecture as performed art:Nant-y-Cwm Steiner School, Pembrokeshire[J]. Social & Cultural Geography, 2006,7(6):927-948.
[46]
Cairns K. Connecting to food:Cultivating children in the school garden[J]. Children's Geographies, 2017,15(3):304-318.
[47]
Khan M, Bell S, McGeown S, et al. Designing an outdoor learning environment for and with a primary school community:A case study in Bangladesh[J]. Landscape Research, 2020,45(1):95-110.
[48]
Dunkley A R, Smith A T. By-standing memories of curious observations:Children's storied landscapes of ecological encounter[J]. Cultural Geographies, 2019,26(1):89-107.
[49]
Ardoin M N, DiGiano M, O'Connor K, et al. Using online narratives to explore participant experiences in a residential environmental education program[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016,14(3):263-281.
[50]
Pimlott-Wilson H, Coates J. Rethinking learning? Challenging and accommodating neoliberal educational agenda in the integration of Forest School into mainstream educational settings[J]. The Geographical Journal, 2019,185:268-278.
[51]
Ribeiro S A, Silva I. Drawing on fire:Children's knowledge and needs after a wildfire disaster in Portugal[J]. Children's Geographies, 2020,18(6):726-738.
[52]
Towers B, Perillo S, Ronan K. Evaluation of ‘Survive and Thrive’ final Report to the Country Fire Authority[M]. Melbourne:RMIT University, 2018:10-12.
[53]
Agnello M F, Carpenter P. Integrating geospatial technologies, action research, and curriculum theory to promote ecological literacy[J]. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 2010,4(3):188-197.
[54]
Skar M, Gundersen V, O'Brien L. How to engage children with nature:Why not just let them play?[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016, 14(5):527-540.
[55]
Dunne H J. Experiencing the outdoors:Embodied encounters in the Outward Bound Trust[J]. The Geographical Journal, 2019,185:279-291.
[56]
King K, Church A. ‘We don't enjoy nature like that’:Youth identity and lifestyle in the countryside[J]. Journal of Rural Studies, 2013, 31:67-76.
[57]
Kraftl P, Balestieri J A P, Campos A E M. (Re)thinking (re)connection:Young people, "natures" and the water-energy-food nexus in São Paulo State, Brazil[J]. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2019,44:299-314.
[58]
Browning H E M, Marion L J, Gregoire G T. Sustainably connecting children with nature:An exploratory study of nature play area visitor impacts and their management[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2013,119:104-112.
[59]
Malone K. Theorizing a child-dog encounter in the slums of La Paz using post-humanistic approaches in order to disrupt universalisms in current ‘child in nature’ debates[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016, 14(4):390-407.
[60]
Hadfield-Hill S, Zara C. Complicating childhood-nature relations:Negotiated, spiritual and destructive encounters[J]. Geoforum, 2019, 98:66-74.
[61]
Barad K. Meeting the Universe Half Way:Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning[M]. Durham:Duke University Press, 2007:28.
[62]
Anggard E. How matter comes to matter in children's nature play:Posthumanist approaches and children's geographies[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016,14(1):77-90.
[63]
Merewether J. New materialisms and children's outdoor environments:Murmurative diffractions[J]. Children's Geographies, 2019, 17(1):105-117.
[64]
Rautio P. Children who carry stones in their pockets:On autotelic material practices in everyday life[J]. Children's Geographies, 2013, 11(4):394-408.
[65]
Arvidsen J. Growing dens. On re-grounding the child-nature relationship through a new materialist approach to children's dens[J]. Children's Geographies, 2018,16(3):279-291.
[66]
Mycock. Playing with mud-becoming stuck, becoming free? The negotiation of gendered/class identities when learning outdoors[J]. Children's Geographies, 2019,17(4):454-466.
[67]
Smith A T, Dunkley R. Technology-nonhuman-child assemblages:Reconceptualizing rural childhood roaming[J]. Children's Geographies, 2018,16(3):304-318.
[68]
Anggard E. Digital cameras:Agents in research with children[J]. Children's Geographies, 2015,13(1):1-13.
[69]
Otto S, Pensini P. Nature-based environmental education of children:Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature, together, are related to ecological behaviour[J]. Global Environmental Change, 2017,47:88-94.
[70]
Hordyk R S, Dulude M, Shem M. When nature nurtures children:Nature as a containing and holding space[J]. Children's Geographies, 2015,13(5):571-588.
[71]
Manoli C C, Johnson B, Dunlap R E. Assessing children's environmental worldviews:Modifying and validating the new ecological paradigm scale for use with children[J]. The Journal of Environmental Education, 2007,38(4):3-13.
[72]
Adams S, Savahl S, Casas F. The relationship between children's perceptions of the natural environment and their subjective well-being[J]. Children's Geographies, 2016,14(6):641-655.
[73]
Beery H T, Lekies S K. Childhood collecting in nature:Quality experience in important places[J]. Children's Geographies, 2019, 17(1):118-131.
[74]
Hosaka T, Numata S, Sugimoto K. Relationship between childhood nature play and adulthood participation in nature-based recreation among urban residents in Tokyo area[J]. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2018,180:1-4.
[75]
包蕾萍.生命历程理论的时间观探析[J].社会学研究,2005(4):120-133.[Bao Leiping. Reflects on the timing view of life-course theory[J]. Sociology Research, 2005(4):120-133.]
[76]
Kellert S R. Kinship to mastery:Biophilia in human evolution and development[J]. Quarterly Review of Biology, 1997,4:79-85.
2020, Vol. 35 
