Time outdoors is critical if children are to develop 21st-century skills and be the future guardians of the natural world. Action for Children’s Environments (ACE) Trust, is calling on teachers around the country to get outdoors on 1 November for Outdoor Classroom Day. The charity is warning that without real-world outdoor experiences, today’s children won’t be prepared for the future and to tackle the world’s biggest problems like climate change.
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global campaign to inspire and celebrate outdoor learning and play. On the day, thousands of schools around the world take lessons outside and prioritise playtime. As well as having fun, they show how important and easy it is to give children more time outdoors. So that schools can participate on a day that fits with their climate and term times, the global campaign has two dates in 2018 — Thursday 17 May and Thursday 1 November.
The time that children spend outdoors is in dramatic decline. According to a recent research by Outdoor Classroom Day global campaign, on an average, children spend an hour or less outside per day, with one in ten never playing outdoors. Yet 97 percent of teachers worldwide believe play time outdoors throughout the day is critical for children to reach their full potential.
Cath Prisk, Outdoor Classroom Day Global Campaign Director said; “It’s time for the outdoors to be taken seriously. The evidence is there – children who play outdoors are more resilient and adaptable and make better decisions. They are happier, healthier and less likely to experience mental health issues. Learning through experience gives lessons real-life meaning – a child who builds and looks after a bee hotel will care more about their survival than learning about the diminishing bee population from a textbook. Play and learning outdoors is simply critical to the survival of people and planet.”
Play helps children develop the 21st century life skills that they need for a good adulthood, such as resilience, collaboration and problem-solving. Playing outdoors as part of the school day helps children learn when they are back in the classroom; 79 percent of teachers surveyed say that children’s ability to focus on a task is improved after playing outdoors, and 62 percent say that children are better able to retain information. Outdoor play also connects children to the natural world; 86 percent of teachers surveyed say that playing outdoors gives children a better understanding of the environment. There is a wealth of literature that suggests that environmental stewardship and connection with place is strongly connected with the amount of time we are immersed in it as children. One study found that direct experiences with nature had a bigger impact on subsequent engagement with pro-environmental behaviour than their formal education.
A generation of environmentally-aware resilient problem-solvers is what the world needs to survive. That’s why Outdoor Classroom Day campaigners advocate that outdoor play and learning should be part of every day for every child, at school and at home. The campaign has already reached children in over 100 countries since launching globally in 2016. Over 2 million children have been registered to take part in Outdoor Classroom Day in 2018 so far; 40,000 of those are in India.
Dr. Sudeshna Chatterjee, CEO, Action for Children’s Environment (ACE) Trust, said: “In a time where children are spending less and less time outdoors, it is vital that we ask ourselves what the impact of that is for them and for future generations. We know that play is how children learn, and that a love of the environment is fostered through an understanding and connection to it. We believe that the solution is simple and can start with schools – more time outdoors has been proven time and again to impact learning, health, wellbeing and that all important connection to the natural world."
Chatterjee further adds, "We’re calling on teachers, parents and anyone who cares about children to get involved in the campaign on November 1st, 2018. Whether that’s by taking a class outdoors, encouraging your child’s school to sign up, or helping spread the message far and wide, everyone can do something to make sure children across the country experience the benefits of playing and learning outdoors.”
Mrunal Raiborde, Headmistress of Vanita Vishram Primary School, Mumbai and a Play Ambassador for Play Future, said, “Our school participated in Outdoor Classroom Day in 2017. We observed a high level of enthusiasm and excitement in students to learn in outdoor settings. We also observed that student learning outcomes were very high in comparison to the closed classroom setting. The open set-up gave them the freedom to think, stretch, move around, and innovate. Somehow, the typical classroom set-up brings boredom and monotony into the system – both for the educator and the learner. Learning and teaching in the outdoors have a positive effect on the teachers too. For celebrating Outdoor Classroom Day they come up with wonderful teaching-learning techniques that the students enjoy and benefit from. I’d like to encourage all educators and parents to please promote and support this wonderful initiative taken up ACE trust for the harmonious development of our children.”
