The time children spend in nature has severely decreased. While nature-based learning at school is considered an important strategy in addressing this, numerous knowledge gaps continue to remain. To address these, a systematic review was undertaken. Nine commonly used health and education databases were searched from inception to January 2019. To be included, study participants were required to be children aged 4 to 12 without health or developmental conditions with a focus on nature-based learning. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed, followed by a descriptive synthesis. Out of 4703 results, 20 quantitative studies were included. There was a lack of universal definition of nature-based learning. This resulted in heterogeneity in how interventions were delivered, and outcomes measured. Overall, nature-based learning had varying levels of positive impacts across a range of outcomes. Despite these positive findings, the evidence base is constrained by some methodological issues. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1921117 .

Nature-based play and learning is of increasing interest to primary schools and research suggests that it has many potential benefits for children’s health and development. However, little is known about educators’ perspectives and experiences of nature-based play and learning, particularly the barriers, benefits and enablers, despite their direct relevance to the uptake of nature-based play and learning in schools. A qualitative descriptive methodology was employed to uncover these. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 principals and educators from South Australian public primary schools, recruited via a participant contact list from a previous study. The participants were two principals, eight educators and two individuals with dual principal and educator positions. Metropolitan and rural schools were equally represented. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Analysis identified four overarching themes: the practice, perceived benefits, barriers and enablers of nature-based play and learning. Children’s learning, enjoyment, creativity, and a relaxed and flexible environment were clear benefits. Meanwhile educator knowledge and confidence and the crowded curriculum were barriers. Enablers were nature-based play and learning champions and support from school leadership. The findings suggest that schools can help engage students with nature-based play and learning activities by mitigating these barriers and promoting these enablers.

Nature-based play and learning is of increasing interest to primary schools. However, few studies have investigated primary school staffs’ views. Therefore, this study aimed to survey school staff about the barriers and benefits of nature-based play and learning. The online cross-sectional survey was completed by 50 respondents each representing a South Australian public primary school. Participants were mostly female (92%), educators (68%), in metropolitan schools (56%). The benefits of nature-based play and learning included ‘mental health’ (reported by 98% of participants), ‘spending time outdoors,’ ‘connection to nature,’ ‘cognitive development’ and ‘risk-taking’ (all reported by 96% of participants). The barriers included ‘teacher knowledge and/or confidence’ (68%) and ‘crowded curriculum’ (64%). No significant associations were identified between school characteristics and benefits and barriers of nature-based play and learning. The findings suggest that while nature-based play and learning within primary schools offers promise, barriers to uptake exist. Thus, enabling strategies should underpin implementation.

In Australia, the absence of standard practice guidelines for nature playspace development prompts reliance on guidance documents from government agencies and nature play advocacy groups, posing challenges for end-users. Therefore, the aims of this review were to map recommendations for nature playspace creation/planning, design, implementation, and management within the Australian context. Ten databases and grey literature sources were searched from inception to August 2023, with inclusion criteria focusing on children aged < 18 years, recommendations describing nature playspace creation/planning, design, implementation, and management within the context of Australian outdoor playspace settings. Data extraction was performed in duplicate to identify recommendations for the creation, planning, design, implementation, and management of nature play spaces, followed by a descriptive synthesis of these recommendations. Out of 7,123 articles, 10 met inclusion criteria. The types of documents included were reports, general guides and one regulatory guideline. Nature play was described diversely, with commonalities in elements like trees, water, and plants, but inconsistencies in development approaches led to recommendations lacking clarity and detail. There was a lack of explicit detail regarding development context, suggesting a need for context-specific guidelines. While the included guidance documents provide initial frameworks for guiding nature play, they lack comprehensive, evidence-based recommendations for diverse contexts. Future research should focus on creating standard practice recommendations to ensure safe, age-appropriate, inclusive nature playspaces promoting health and developmental outcomes.