This article addresses the effects of a risk-averse Western society on healthy childhood development. Forest and nature schools are specifically identified for their inclusion of outdoor risky play. Forest and nature schools are presented as idealized venues to investigate and understand the necessary balance of risk-taking and safety in child development. Forest and nature school is an environment in which risk of injury is inherent yet minimal. Although teachers/practitioners allow risk-taking, it may not be well understood outside of the context of the forest and nature school. Beck's risk-society is introduced and argued to hold steady influence—a shadow—over societal beliefs and practices, inducing fear of litigation in the minds of practitioners. Through recognizing and addressing unreasonable societal perception and acceptance of actual childhood risks, one can better estimate the value of the minimal risks forest and nature schools pose to children. The author proposes a reconceptualization of risk in child development and advocates for reform of policy and practices which prevent children from full exploration of their capacity and curiosity through outdoor risky play.

Objective: To report on the role of nature in outdoor therapies through review and summary of existing systematic and meta-analytic reviews in an effort to articulate a theoretical framework for practice. Materials and methods: An umbrella review was conducted following systematic protocols PRISMA guidelines. Results: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria and represented five self-identified approaches: nature-based therapies, forest therapy, horticultural therapy, wilderness therapy, and adventure therapy. Clear and comprehensive descriptions of theory, program structure, and activity details with causal links to outcomes were mostly absent. Conclusions: A rigorous and determined program of research is required in order to explicit in-depth theories of change in outdoor therapies. Conversely, or maybe concurrently, a holistic theory of integrated relatedness may be developed as a parallel expression of support for nature in therapy while the explanatory science catches up.

Background: Teaching experientially in postsecondary education has challenges; institutional constraints, neoliberal management, and a colonized learning environment. We discuss playing as a form of experiential education. Purpose: We challenge conventional teaching and offer an alternative to enrich and broaden conventional pedagogies. We argue for the benefits of playfulness and how this leads to creativity, wellness, and improved graduate employability. Methodology/Approach: As provocation to the consequences of neoliberalism in education, we examine the literature from a biased position as advocates of play and experiential education. We argue for faculty to adopt an ontology and pedagogy of play. Findings/Conclusions: Play is well represented in the literature; contributing positively to a range of health and educational outcomes. As play manifests in numerous forms in postsecondary education, faculty would benefit from a clear educational rationale for an ontology and pedagogy of play. We share examples from our practice which highlight spontaneous and planned play and playful attitudes/behaviors and suggest how play may be integrated as planned curriculum. Implications: Ideally, these concepts resonate with faculty allowing them to challenge conventional pedagogies and confirm play in practice with the underpinning of experiential education research.

Risky play is defined as thrilling and challenging forms of play that have the potential for physical injury and has been linked to development and health benefits for children in the early years. These benefits include risk-assessment skills, increased physical activity and well-being, and promoting social competencies and resilience. Currently, in a Western context, children’s opportunities for risky play are decreasing and at the same time, childhood inactivity and coinciding health concerns are on the rise [WHO. (2016). Childhood overweight and obesity. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/]. Risky play may help ameliorate some current health problems for children. This research aimed to increase understanding of how children use affordances (environmental factors that intersect with and influence human behaviours) for risky play. Physical environmental factors have been found to influence children’s affordances for all play, including risky play. The study employed a deductive analysis of participant-observer field notes and focused-video observations in order to identify how children utilize indoor and outdoor environmental features for risky play. Data was interpreted through Gibson’s [(1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.] theory of affordances and was then fit to established taxonomies of environments for children’s risky play. Research was conducted with children, ages 3–4 years, at a kindergarten in Norway. Findings identified environmental affordances for risky play that were actualized by children in this study. We propose that findings from this study may be useful in considering the physical design of early childhood education play spaces.