Children’s participation in programs that integrate art and nature may play a role in the prevention and treatment of depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns. Research in this area reveals how art-in-nature experiences have the potential to serve as an early intervention for children who are at increased risk of mental health challenges. Such programs may be especially beneficial for children in economically disadvantaged communities. Further, research indicates that nature-based art therapy — a therapeutic approach that integrates nature engagement and art therapy to promote well-being through creative expression — enables healing for youth coping with trauma and other stressors.

Nature-based art therapy supports improved mental health and well-being for youth coping with trauma and other concerns

This review synthesized findings from 11 nature-based art therapy (NBAT) studies conducted in multiple countries. Five of the reviewed studies focused specifically on children and youth experiencing trauma, abuse or other challenges. Findings indicate that NBAT improved mental health by promoting well-being, emotional regulation and stress management. NBAT also provided cognitive and social benefits while supporting awareness of environmental sustainability and a sense of belonging in nature.
Gulbe et al., 2025. Exploring nature-based art therapy: a scoping review. 
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Nature and art together can support the mental and emotional well-being of children in disadvantaged communities

This study suggested that an arts-in-nature program supported children’s mental and emotional well-being, as evidenced by children’s drawings, results of a personal well-being assessment, and responses from child and adult interviews. Study participants consisted of 101 children (age 7–10) from two primary schools located in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the U.K. A majority of the children rated their well-being higher after participating in the program.
Moula, Walshe & Lee, 2023. “It was like I was not a person, it was like I was the nature”: The impact of arts-in-nature experiences on the wellbeing of children living in areas of high deprivation.
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Arts-in-nature programs can serve as an early intervention for children with emerging mental health challenges

The potential of an arts-in-nature program to enhance children’s well-being with the help of community volunteers was studied in six U.K. primary schools. Interviews with school staff and volunteers who led approximately 100 children (age 7–10) in eight weekly outdoor art sessions indicated that the program was beneficial to children with emerging mental health challenges. Engaging volunteers may offer a viable approach for schools to increase their capacity to support students’ mental health.
Dadswell et al., 2024. Branching out: mobilizing community assets to support the mental health and wellbeing of children in primary schools.
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Nature-based group art therapy has a positive effect on siblings of children with disabilities

This experimental study in South Korea was based on prior research showing that siblings of children with disabilities are at increased risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties. One group of 18 siblings participated in eight weekly sessions of forest-based art therapy; another group of 11 siblings did not. The benefits experienced by the art therapy group included better resistance to disease, decreased stress and improved self-esteem; the other group showed no significant change in these areas.
Kang, Kim & Baek, 2021. Effects of nature-based group art therapy programs on stress, self-esteem and changes in electroencephalogram (EEG) in non-disabled siblings of children with disabilities.
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Nature-based art activities can support children’s mental health and well-being

Teaching artists in the U.K. shared ideas about how their nature-based practices impacted children’s well-being. Themes suggest that nature-related art activities have potential to promote children’s agency and confidence while providing inspiration for creativity. Although results are based on a small-scale qualitative study, they support the idea that nature-based art activities might play an important role in the prevention and treatment of mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety.
Walshe, Lee & Smith, 2020. Supporting children’s well-being with art in nature: Artist pedagogue perceptions.
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Creative, artistic experiences in nature can deepen children’s awareness and appreciation of natural environments. The studies in this section highlight how children’s engagement in outdoor, nature-based art activities can center attention on nature and provide an important opportunity to connect with nature physically and emotionally. Through the development of a meaningful connection with nature, children may become more engaged in environmental issues, as well as more aware of the ways nature contributes to their own psychological well-being.

Arts-based interventions in nature can increase nature connectivity and improve well-being in children and young people

This systematic review examined eight studies (conducted in five countries) that explored arts-based interventions in nature. Children’s development of a sense of connectedness to nature was the most frequently reported outcome across studies. The review also found arts-based interventions in nature can engage those that otherwise may not be as interested in environmental issues. Additional findings highlight the value of arts-based interventions in promoting well-being in children and young people.
Moula, Palmer & Walshe, 2022. A systematic review of arts-based interventions delivered to children and young people in nature or outdoor spaces: Impact on nature connectedness, health and wellbeing.
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An arts-in-nature program helps children connect with nature and appreciate nature’s contribution to their own well-being

A total of 101 primary school children (age 7–10) from areas of high deprivation in England participated in eight full days of arts-in-nature activities over a period of eight weeks. Children’s drawings along with observation and interview data revealed that the experience helped children develop a meaningful appreciation for nature. Children also viewed nature as a major contributor to their well-being. Findings support the idea that arts-in-nature activities can help children connect physically and emotionally with nature.
Walshe, Perry & Moula, 2023. Eco-capabilities: Arts-in-nature for supporting nature visibilisation and wellbeing in children. 
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Arts-based activities provide a powerful way to develop an emotional connection to nature

This study explored an outdoor, arts-based intervention in which 10 students (age 9–10) from a school in England helped create a sculpture in a local park. The study found that art-based activities fostered children’s close attention to the surrounding environment, understandings of nature and an emotional connection with nature. Findings demonstrate how child-led arts-based activities can strengthen the connection between children and nature.
Hallam, Gallagher & Owen, 2022. The secret language of flowers: Insights from an outdoor, arts-based intervention designed to connect primary school children to locally accessible nature.
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Arts-based environmental education can promote nature connectedness and pro-environmental agency

Six fifth grade students, their teachers, a local farmer, and collaborating artists/researchers in Finland participated in an arts-based practice that promoted emotional and philosophical nature connectedness. The study indicates that arts-based environmental education supports pro-environmental mindsets when focused on various dimensions of nature connectedness (cognitive, experiential, emotional, philosophical) and recognizes the agency, intrinsic value and rights of non-human nature.
Raatikainen et al., 2020. “Face the cow”: Reconnecting to nature and increasing capacities for pro-environmental agency. 
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Through nature-based art activities, children can observe, interpret and share new understandings about the natural world. By supporting enhanced cognitive understandings of nature, as well as emotional connections with nature, nature-based art experiences offer a promising approach for the development of environmental literacy. The following studies examine how viewing or creating nature-based art supports children’s development of environmental knowledge and increases their capacity to respond to ecological issues. The studies also highlight how engaging with environmental problems through arts-based approaches facilitates creative and critical thinking and inspires children to develop their own solutions to environmental problems.

Art-based environmental education engages young children’s creative thinking around sustainability issues

Twenty kindergarteners (age 4–5) in Greece participated in an art-based education for sustainability intervention focused on urban waste. Findings revealed how engaging with environmental problems through an art-based approach facilitated children’s creative and critical thinking, deepened understandings of sustainability and enabled children to present their visions for a more sustainable future. Incorporating creativity into environmental learning may encourage pro-environmental actions.
Kalafati, Flogaiti & Daskolia, 2025. Enhancing preschoolers’ creativity through art based environmental education for sustainability. 
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Environmental artworks can enhance children’s learning about sustainability

Interviews of 28 children (age 4–12) in Australia as they explored an online gallery of sustainability-themed environmental artworks and images revealed that engaging with artworks “magnified” the potential for deep learning about sustainability. Viewing the gallery afforded children opportunities to think about local ecosystems and express strong emotions, particularly sadness and empathy, about environmental degradation. Children also responded by proposing solutions to environmental problems.
O’Gorman, 2024. “It’s the only world we’ve got.” Children’s responses to Chris Jordan’s Images about SDG 14: Life below water.
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Art-based environmental education can provide empowering opportunities for children to make their own ecological discoveries

This study explored the experiences of 20 children (age 8–10) in the U.S. who attended a week-long, forest school-inspired, art-based environmental education camp. Findings showed that the camp empowered children to embrace active roles as scientists/artists who directed their own ecological inquiries and discoveries. The development of ecological understanding engaged children’s creativity, autonomy, collaboration and critical thinking while also helping children to perceive themselves as part of nature.
Hunter-Doniger, 2021. Seeing the forest through the trees: at the intersection of Forest Kindergartens and art-based environmental education. 
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An arts-based environmental education program increased students’ environmental knowledge and provided an avenue for advocacy

The intent in adding art to a science curriculum was to help fifth- and sixth-grade students in New York learn about the Hudson River Watershed. The students made significant gains in environmental knowledge. Environmental attitudes also showed improvement, although not significantly. Students, parents and teachers indicated that the art activities helped students understand human impacts on the watershed. Students hoped the mural they created would stimulate action for watershed protection.
Schneller et al., 2021. Outcomes of art-based environmental education in the Hudson River Watershed. 
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An arts-based garden pedagogy supports children’s creativity and environmental education

This case study in Finland examined the drawings of children (age 3–5) and data from teacher interviews to understand how combining visual art and garden pedagogy can support active learning. Findings indicate that drawing, telling stories, and representing nature experiences through the arts support children’s development of eco-social knowledge. The arts-based garden pedagogy strengthened children’s bonds with nature and encouraged imagination, creative thinking and environmentally responsible actions.
Ruokonen & Lepisto, 2024. Children’s artistic expressions inspired by nature during early childhood garden pedagogy. 
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Arts-based environmental education improved children’s eco-awareness and environmental knowledge as effectively as conventional environmental education

Nearly 300 U.S. children (age 6–12) were randomly assigned to three different summer day camps: a traditional camp, one that integrated environmental education, and one that integrated arts-based environmental education. Compared with children in traditional camps, children in environmental education and arts-based environmental education camps showed gains in eco-awareness and environmental knowledge. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of arts-based environmental programs.
Staples et al., 2019. Effects of an art-based environmental education camp program on the environmental attitudes and awareness of diverse youth. 
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