Child-Nature Interaction in a Forest Preschool

Kahn, Peter H.; Weiss, Thea; Harrington, Kit

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_33-1

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The answer we would like to highlight here is that it is through interaction with wild nature, and allowing it to transform our narrow conceptions of self (Turner, 1996;Kahn et al, 2018b). For example, when participants in this study watched an eagle snatch its prey from the ocean's surface, they did not control the destiny of either animal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…A keystone interaction pattern is any interaction pattern that plays a disproportionately large role in human-nature interaction because (a) it occurs frequently, (b) it is itself hugely beneficial or meaningful, (c) it engenders dozens or even hundreds of complementary, subsidiary, or overlapping interaction patterns, and/or (d) its loss leads to the subsequent loss of dozens or even hundreds of complementary, subsidiary, or overlapping interaction patterns (cf. Kahn et al, 2018b). This use of the term keystone partly mimics the term keystone species in conservation biology, which refers to a species (such as a top predator) that has a disproportionate benefit to its environment relative to its abundance (Mills et al, 1993;Paine, 1995, p. 5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relatively Wild Urban Parks Can Promote Human Resilience and Flourishing: A Case Study of Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington

Lev

Kahn

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Sustain. Cities

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Human interaction with nature is vital for physical health and mental well-being, and positions a community to be resilient to urban stressors. Yet urban development continues to put pressures on natural areas within urban boundaries. As a case in point, Seattle's largest park, Discovery Park, of over 500 acres, is often under threat of some form of development. The central question of this study was whether the benefits to visitors of Discovery Park depend, in no small measure, on the park's very size and relative wild landscape. Toward addressing this question, 320 participants provided written narratives (through our web portal) about the meaningful ways in which they interacted with nature at Discovery Park. Each individual narrative was then analyzed and coded using an Interaction Pattern (IP) approach, which provides characterizations of human-nature interaction that have ontogenetic and phylogenetic significance. Results revealed 520 Interaction Patterns (IPs). The most frequently occurring IPs clustered under the keystone IPs of Encountering Wildlife (27%), Following Trails (14%), Walking to Destination Spots in Nature (8%), Gazing out at the Puget Sound or Mountains (6%), Walking Along Edges of Beach or Bluffs (5%), and Walking with Dogs (4%). Results also revealed that visitors' meaningful interactions with nature in Discovery Park depended on the park's relative wildness. For example, (a) 77% of participants' IPs depended on Discovery Park's relative wildness; (b) of the participants who specified an especially meaningful experience with nature, 95% of them had an interaction that depended on Discovery Park's relative wildness; and (c) of the participants whose IPs were linked to other aspects of the nature in the park or to their own positive mental states, 95 and 96%, respectively, had an interaction that depended on Discovery Park's relative wildness. Discussion focuses on how human interaction with large and relatively wild urban parks helps reverse the trend of environmental generational amnesia, and a domination worldview, and thus should be prioritized in urban planning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relatively Wild Urban Parks Can Promote Human Resilience and Flourishing: A Case Study of Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington

Lev

Kahn

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Sustain. Cities

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“…In brief, interaction patterns refer to characterizations of essential features of interaction between humans and nature, specified abstractly enough such that countless different embodied versions of each one can be uniquely realized given different types of nature, people, and purposes. To date, Kahn and his colleagues have generated over 150 human–nature interaction patterns, with photos and descriptions for many of them ( Kahn et al, 2010 , 2012 , 2018a , b ; Kahn and Weiss, 2017 ).…”

Section: Interaction Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This might well be the critical interaction pattern that you need to design for, which means keeping houses and development away from the edge of the lake itself, and creating a pathway around the lake, so that people can walk around the lake . Knowing that this interaction pattern is a particularly important one helps to provide the language for urban design and urban sustainability ( Hartig and Kahn, 2016 ; Kahn et al, 2018b ). Such interaction patterns have been referred to as keystone interaction patterns.…”

Section: Interaction Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A keystone interaction pattern is any interaction pattern that plays a disproportionately large role in human–nature interaction because (a) it occurs frequently, (b) it is itself hugely beneficial or meaningful, (c) it engenders dozens or even hundreds of complementary, subsidiary, or overlapping interaction patterns, and/or (d) its loss leads to the subsequent loss of dozens or even hundreds of complementary, subsidiary, or overlapping interaction patterns (cf. Kahn et al, 2018b ). This use of the term keystone partly mimics the term keystone species in conservation biology, which refers to a species (such as a top predator) that has a disproportionate benefit to its environment relative to its abundance ( Mills et al, 1993 ; Paine, 1995 ).…”

Section: Interaction Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling Child–Nature Interaction in a Nature Preschool: A Proof of Concept

2018

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This article provides a proof of concept for an approach to modeling child–nature interaction based on the idea of interaction patterns: characterizations of essential features of interaction between humans and nature, specified abstractly enough such that countless different instantiations of each one can occur – in more domestic or wild forms – given different types of nature, people, and purposes. The model draws from constructivist psychology, ecological psychology, and evolutionary psychology, and is grounded in observational data collected through a time-sampling methodology at a nature preschool. Through using a nature language that emphasizes ontogenetic and phylogenetic significance, seven keystone interaction patterns are described for this nature preschool: using one’s body vigorously in nature, striking wood on wood, constructing shelter, being in solitude in nature, lying on earth, cohabiting with a wild animal, and being outside in weather. These 7 interactions patterns are then brought together with 13 other patterns published elsewhere to provide a total of 20 keystone interaction patterns that begin to fill out the model, and to show its promise. Discussion focuses on what the model aims to be in terms of both product and process, on what work the model can currently do, and how to further develop the model.

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Forest School practice in Canada: a survey study

Boileau

Dabaja

2020

Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education

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Child-Nature Interaction in a Forest Preschool

Cited by 4 publications

References 25 publications

Relatively Wild Urban Parks Can Promote Human Resilience and Flourishing: A Case Study of Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington

Relatively Wild Urban Parks Can Promote Human Resilience and Flourishing: A Case Study of Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington

Modeling Child–Nature Interaction in a Nature Preschool: A Proof of Concept

Forest School practice in Canada: a survey study

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