Effective Nature-Based Outdoor Play and Learning Environments for below-3 Children: A Literature-Based Summary

Area of Science:

• Early Childhood Education
• Environmental Psychology
• Child Development

Background:

• Early childhood (0-8 years) is critical for brain development, significantly influenced by informal learning from the environment.
• Nature contact in early years, especially the first three, offers rich informal learning opportunities, impacting future learning, behavior, and health.
• Nature-based environments provide significant health and developmental benefits for young children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the lack of guidelines and assessment standards for designing nature-based outdoor environments for children under three years old.
• To develop evidence-based criteria, guidelines, and assessment indicators for nature-based childcare outdoor environments for infants and toddlers.
• To increase meaningful connections between young children and natural elements within childcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Phase 1: Literature review on below-three children's outdoor play and learning environments and their design implications.
• Phase 2: Extraction of effective design guidelines and assessment indicators from Phase 1 studies.
• Phase 3: Empirical data collection to compare existing and proposed design conditions in a childcare facility.

Main Results:

• Identified a significant gap in existing literature regarding design standards for nature-based outdoor environments for children under three.
• Extracted and synthesized design implications and assessment indicators from limited available research.
• Collected empirical data to inform the development of new, evidence-based assessment criteria and guidelines.

Conclusions:

• There is an urgent need for specific design guidelines for nature-based outdoor play and learning environments for infants and toddlers in childcare.
• The research provides a framework for creating and assessing nature-based environments that support early learning, health, and development.
• This study offers crucial insights for designing childcare outdoor spaces that foster a strong connection with nature from the earliest years of life.