Today's podcast guest, Dr Scott Coussens, is the first guest to return for a repeat episode! Scott, I have discovered, has expertise in many aspects of neuroscience. In Episode #11 we discussed sleep. In this episode we consider the benefits of nature play for children.
Set against a back drop of rising mental illness in children, it is important to identify mediating factors and unstructured nature play appears to be one such factor. Nature play positively impacts resilience and resilience is an important preventative factor against mental ill health.
Scott and the team at the University of South Australia are conducting research designed to find evidence to support the benefits of unstructured nature play and the underlying mechanisms. For many of us, the link between being in nature and mental wellbeing seems self-evident but for nature play to be incorporated into school curriculums in Australia, scientific evidence of its worth is crucial.
Child Resilience and Wellbeing Study
If you are a parent with a child aged 4-13 would like to participatelike to participate in a study about children's resilience, please read the information sheet here:
https://bit.ly/2RllB6cThe survey needs to be completed in one sitting and will take approximately 30 minutes. You will need your child present to contribute to one small section of the survey that will only take a minute or two, so please start the survey at a time that is convenient for you. Alternatively, contact Dr Scott Coussens (
[email protected]) to arrange for a hard copy of the survey to be sent to you.
