• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, August 30, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Nature draws out a happy place for children

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 11, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

New study explores children’s perception of their own wellbeing using art

IMAGE

Credit: Anglia Ruskin University

Young children in deprived areas see nature and outdoor spaces as being associated with “happy places”, according to a new study published in the journal Child Indicators Research.

Researchers Dr Nicola Walshe and Dr Zoe Moula from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) asked 91 children aged seven and eight from two primary schools in areas of relatively high deprivation in the East of England to draw their happy place, before engaging them in group discussions about how they perceive their own wellbeing.

More than half of the children created drawings that included aspects of nature and outdoor spaces, such as trees, grass, parks, gardens, lakes, rivers, outdoor playgrounds, rainbows or sunlight. Trees, in particular, were drawn by a third of the children.

However, the study found the elements of nature mainly existed in the background of the drawings. Other aspects of wellbeing, such as a sense of safety, positive relationships with family and friends, and the need for love and happiness, were more explicit in the pictures.

The fieldwork for the study took place a week before the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown, in March 2020, and when asked which elements they would want to keep away from their happy place, 14 of the children specifically mentioned coronavirus.

Co-author Dr Walshe, Head of the School of Education and Social Care at ARU, said: “We wanted this study to explore children’s own perceptions of wellbeing, as most previous research has focused on adults. This is despite a consensus that children’s perspectives differ significantly from adults.

“We identified indicators of wellbeing that were made explicit in children’s drawings, such as the need for safety, happiness and positive relationships. Interestingly, the representations of nature mainly exist in the background and were rarely the main focus of the drawings..

“The drawings depicted nature and outdoor spaces as being interconnected with all aspects of wellbeing. For example, being able to play outside boosts physical wellbeing, while being able to stay calm and appreciate the beauty of nature can be linked to emotional or mental health.

“Previous research has shown that wealth affects access to nature, with children living in deprived areas significantly less likely to have access to green spaces and outdoor places to play. Our research suggests that nature and open spaces underpin these children’s consideration of wellbeing.

“As such, making nature explicit, and restoring the interconnectedness between the arts and nature should be a key priority for research to help improve children’s wellbeing.”

###

For further information about this project, please visit eco-capabilities.co.uk

Media Contact
Jamie Forsyth
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09811-6

Tags: Ecology/EnvironmentEducationPerception/AwarenessPoverty/WealthQuality of LifeUrbanization
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Hsa_circ_0013729 Drives Gastric Cancer via MEF2D Regulation

August 30, 2025

Whole Mitochondrial DNA Sequencing via Custom Primer Design

August 30, 2025

Males Nurture Early-Stage Embryos in Treefrogs

August 30, 2025

Hsa_circ_0000419: Novel Biomarker in Esophageal Cancer

August 30, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    152 shares
    Share 61 Tweet 38
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Innovative Mechanical Flipper Enhances Vision in Myopic Kids

Renal Transplants for Older Adults: A Fresh Perspective

Viral Interference Disrupts RSV Epidemics in Stockholm

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.