Evidence of early childhood environmental education’s positive outcomes is overwhelmingly strong.

A systematic review of the literature on early childhood environmental education (ECEE) found that related programs generally promote environmental literacy, cognitive development, and social and emotional development. Other reported outcomes include improved physical development and language and literacy development. Evidence of the effectiveness of ECEE programs in achieving desired outcomes was overwhelmingly strong.
Ardoin & Bowers, 2020. Early childhood environmental education: A systematic review of the research literature. 
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Increasing connectedness to nature reduced perceived stress among preschool children, especially as expressed through anger frequency.

This study involved two groups of preschool children: one participating, and the other not participating, in a ten-week nature-focused program. The participating group scored lower in assessed stress levels and made significant gains in prosocial behavior from before to after the ten-week program. Behavior changes were particularly noted in reduced frequency of anger. Because children in the nature program spent increased time in a natural environment, the results suggest that exposure to bacteria in natural environments could be beneficial to behavioral outcomes for young children.
Sobko et al. 2020. Impact of outdoor nature‐related activities on gut microbiota, fecal serotonin, and perceived stress in preschool children: The Play & Grow randomized controlled trial. 
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Children’s involvement in play increases when they can easily access a variety of natural and other types of open-ended materials.

This study investigated the association between children’s level of involvement in free play and the use of play materials in outdoor environments at preschools. Researchers coded the type of materials used for play and calculated the percentage of time materials were used. Children’s play with loose parts and movable materials – with the exception of wheeled toys – tended to be associated with higher levels of play involvement. Using two or more different types of play materials at once increased the level of involvement.
Storli, Sandseter & Sando, 2020. Children’s involvement in free play and the use of play materials in the outdoor early childhood education and care environment. 
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Teacher reluctance limits risky play for children at preschool.

This research involving over 50 early childhood teachers investigated opportunities for risky outdoor play in preschool environments. Multiple restrictions to risky play were identified, including limited acceptance of risky play among early childhood teachers, safety regulations, and a lack of affordances for risky play in the preschools’ playgrounds. These results highlight the need for education about the value of risky play at the level of policy developers and teachers.
LeMasters & Vandermaas-Peeler, 2021. Exploring outdoor play: A mixed-methods study of the quality of preschool play environments and teacher perceptions of risky play. 
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Nature preschools can promote school readiness by furthering peer play and learning behaviors.

Four nature preschools and two non-nature preschools participated in a study investigating the effectiveness of nature preschools on two components of school readiness: peer play interactions and learning behaviors. Nature preschoolers made significant growth during the school year in the play interaction dimension of peer play and in learning behavior and showed a significant reduction of play disruption and play disconnection behaviors. Non-nature preschoolers showed significant play disconnection in the home and/or neighborhood, reflecting withdrawn behavior and non-participation in peer play.
Burgess & Ernst, 2020. Beyond traditional school readiness: How nature preschools help prepare children for academic success.
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Children in nature-based and traditional preschools are equally prepared for kindergarten.

The aim of this study was to determine if children in a traditional preschool and a nature-based preschool in the US were equally prepared academically and social-emotionally for kindergarten. Both programs were located in the same school in the US, thus drawing from families with similar backgrounds. Assessments completed before, during, and after the academic year showed that the two groups of children ended the year with approximately equal levels of kindergarten readiness in the areas of social-emotional functioning, academic skills, and pretend play.
Cordiano et al. 2019. Nature-based education and kindergarten readiness: Nature-based and traditional preschoolers are equally prepared for kindergarten.
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Nature preschools can be effective in promoting executive function skills, a critical component of school readiness.

This study found that children attending both nature preschools and high-quality non-nature preschools in the US gained executive function skills beyond what would be expected from typically developing children. This research adds support to the growing literature on the benefits of nature preschools, including benefits relating to school readiness.
Zamzow & Ernst, 2020. Supporting school readiness naturally: Exploring executive function growth in nature preschools.  
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Young children with disabilities, when outdoors, participate in different types of nature-related activities with a variety of learning opportunities.

Research comparing everyday learning opportunities of young children (age 0-6) with and without special needs found that many of the family and community activities for both groups involved different aspects of the natural environment. Factors influencing child participation and learning in the activities focused primarily on three key characteristics: child interests, the interestingness of the activities, and the role parents and other caregivers played in promoting child participation in the activities.
Dunst, 2020. Everyday learning opportunities of young children with and without developmental disabilities or delays. 
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Collaborative efforts between organizations can make forest and nature school opportunities available to more children.

The executive directors of two organizations involved in the education of young children in Canada developed a memorandum of understanding designed to make a forest school experience available to a wider group of children. Commitments in the memorandum included (1) having staff trained and certified in forest school pedagogy and (2) developing and jointly operating a licensed forest nature school childcare program. A study related to this project indicated that a collaborative approach to expanding forest nature school programming can advance social and ecological justice values.
Niblett et al. 2020. Partnering for outdoor play: A case study of forest and nature school programming in the context of licensed childcare in Ottawa, Ontario.
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Promoting agency in young children is of major importance for education for sustainable development.

This systematic literature review focused on education for sustainable development (ESD) in early childhood education.  Results of the review were used to develop a framework for early childhood education professional development opportunities for ESD. Each component of the framework relates in some way to helping children become change agents in their community, as the review highlighted the importance of children’s agency in ESD.
Bascope, Perasso & Reiss, 2019. Systematic review of education for sustainable development at an early stage: Cornerstones and pedagogical approaches for teacher professional development. 
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Children attending a nature preschool had higher connectedness to nature than preschoolers attending a traditional preschool.

This study involved 216 children (age 1-8) attending either a nature nursery or a traditional nursery in the UK. Surveys completed by parents indicated that children who attended nature nurseries had higher nature connectedness than children attending traditional nurseries. Results also showed that both parental nature connection and total time spent in a nature nursery predicted preschool children’s connection to nature.
Barrable & Booth 2020. Nature connection in early childhood: A quantitative cross-sectional study.
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Young children, with support of early childhood educators, have the ability to be meaningfully involved in ecologically sustainable practices.

This report describes two sustainability projects – one in Australia and one in the United States – in which preschool children played an active role in making changes critical to the regeneration of natural environments in their local community. In each case, the children demonstrated empathy for non-human species and viewed themselves as capable of making meaningful contributions to the larger community.
Konerman et al. 2021. Children’s agency and action in nature preschool: A tale of two programs. 
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