Recently, I watched a frustrated teacher struggle to fill out a risk assessment form for a field trip to an outdoor education center. It made me wonder: if there are risks to spending time outside, what are the risks to our children of spending almost all our time indoors?
Imagine filling out a risk form for a typical day inside:
- Risk of inactivity: Increased chances of obesity, diabetes, and heart problems.
- Risk of poor mental health: Higher likelihood of anxiety, depression, and decreased resilience.
- Risk of disconnection: Losing touch with the natural world and missing its profound benefits.
Now that is risky.
And yet, evidence shows that time spent in nature can dramatically improve our health and well-being. Breathing forest air boosts immunity. Seeing the colour green, elevates our serotonin levels, the “feel-good” hormone. Studies show that children returning indoors after time outside are happier, more cooperative, and better able to focus. These are outcomes we desperately need.
Still, many administrators are hesitant to embrace outdoor education. Field trips are often dismissed as frills, with “real learning” seen as something that happens within four walls. The irony? “Indoor education” teaches about the world by separating children from it.
For many children, the outdoors has become a foreign and frightening place, full of imagined dangers like ticks, uneven terrain, or cold weather. The truth is, the outdoors isn’t risky—it’s essential. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, calls nature experiences “Vitamin N.” And just like a deficiency in vitamins, a deficiency in nature weakens our physical and mental health.
There’s so much to learn outside that aligns directly with the curriculum. From observing how trees exchange carbon for oxygen to discovering mathematical patterns like the Fibonacci sequence in nature, the possibilities are endless. Outdoors, children can create art with natural materials, map the biodiversity in their schoolyard, and explore the interconnectedness of life—all while forming memories that tie them to the land.