Optimising Early Childhood Educational Settings for Health Using Nature-Based Solutions: The Microbiome Aspect

Robinson, Jake M.; Barrable, Alexia

doi:10.3390/educsci13020211

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…American Indian/Alaskan Native participants had a higher percentage of participants learn their plant knowledge in college (n = 6, 15%) than White participants (n = 17, 3%). According to Robinson and Barrable (2023) and Cooper (2015), early education is an important time for children to be exposed to nature and plants, and this influences children's development once they start primary education. Plus, younger students show a broader interest in plants, but that interest diminishes as they age (Amprazis et al, 2021;Strgar, 2008).…”

Section: Demographics and Plant Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Do demographic factors impact plant knowledge and plant awareness disparity?

Linderwell,

Hargiss,

Norland

2024

Natural Sciences Education

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Since 1999, plant blindness, now known as plant awareness disparity (PAD), has gained great awareness. However, no study to date has explored the impact of multiple demographic factors, including those of an indigenous population, in understanding plant knowledge. Specifically, this study assessed how race, gender, rurality, and college type of general biology students influenced their self‐perceived plant knowledge and where that knowledge was learned. A total of 702 students across six different colleges, including three tribal and three non‐tribal colleges, completed the survey. The survey included demographic questions, five‐point Likert questions, and choose all that apply questions to assess students’ confidence in their plant knowledge, plant identification skills, where they learned that plant knowledge, and from whom they learned it. College type (tribal vs. non‐tribal) and race (American Indian/Alaskan Native vs. White) showed little differences across most analyses. However, rurality (rural vs. urban) and gender (male vs. female) were often significantly different (p ≤ 0.05). Similar findings were reflected in confidence in identifying specific plant categories. In most cases, participants disagreed when answering that they were confident in identifying categories of plants, with the only exception being gardening. The types of plants participants knew the most about were food, herbs, and foraging plants, which corresponded with gardening and foraging being the activities that taught them most about plants. Parent(s)/guardian(s) were the most important source of plant knowledge followed by school. The information in this study can aid educators, resource managers, and researchers in improving education, curriculum, and PAD.

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Section: Demographics and Plant Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Do demographic factors impact plant knowledge and plant awareness disparity?

Linderwell,

Hargiss,

Norland

2024

Natural Sciences Education

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“…In particular, exposure to natural microbiomes would favor the acquisition of an eubiotic GM layout, leading to enhanced immunoregulatory activity. In this context, the idea of GM "rewilding" of Western urban citizens has been advanced through prescribed health-inducing interactions with biodiverse natural microbiomes Robinson & Breed, 2020;Robinson & Jorgensen, 2020;Robinson & Barrable, 2023). A relevant and concrete step in this direction has been taken by Roslund and colleagues (2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 15-day biodiversity intervention with horses in a farm system leads to acquisition of health-promoting features in the gut microbiome of 10 urban Italian children

Candela,

Scicchitano,

Foresto

et al. 2024

Preprint

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In order to evaluate the possibility to shape the human gut microbiome (GM) through the interaction with natural ecosystems, we explored the impact of a 15-day biodiversity intervention with horses on the GM of 10 urban-living Italian children. The children GM was metagenomically assessed before and after 10hr/day daily interaction with horses in an educational farm. The horses’ skin, oral, and fecal microbiomes were similarly assessed as well. We found that the interaction with horses facilitates the acquisition of health promoting features in the children GM, such as a higher diversity, an enhanced production of butyrate and the increase of several health-promoting species, generally considered as next-generation probiotics. Amongst these, the butyrate producers Facecalibacterium prausnitzii and F. ducaniae and a species belonging to the anti-inflammatory Christensenellales. Moreover, the interaction with horses were also associating with the increase of GM components exerting important roles in the bioconversion of dietary plant polyphenols to health promoting and protective metabolites, as Eggerthella lenta, Gordonibacter pamelae and G. urolithifacens. Supporting the microbiological safety of the interaction process, we did not observe any increases pathogenic features in the children GM following the interaction with horses. Overall, our pilot study provides insights into the existence of possible health-promoting variations in the GM from urban-living children thanks to the interactions with horses. This lays the foundations to explore the full extent of the beneficial interaction process occurring between the human GM and the natural microbiomes.

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