Middle Years Students' Experiences in Nature: A Case Study on Nature-Play

Increasingly, children today are becoming disconnected from the natural environments resulting in a diminished sense of self, place and community. In an attempt to find out their perceptions, attitudes and values about the natural world, twenty-five Year 6 and 7 students from a northern Adelaide primary school participated in a nature-play case study. The research revealed a number of issues which impact on the quality of nature interactions and experiences during their free-time activities. The key findings indicate that students need to have increased opportunity to access wild nature through a range of first-hand experiences in order to develop realistic concepts about where animals and plants are found in nature.