Environmental Ministry Position

EDOE 543 - Environmental Ministries

Breanne Vander Hill

July 20, 2022

 Environmental Ministry Position

Introduction

Why is outdoor education important? Why is it vital for the education system? As

someone who loves being outdoors, it is hard for me to believe that anyone would not think

outdoor education is important. If every teacher thought like me, outdoor education would be a

part of all schools. However, as a public school teacher, I know that making changes in how

schools operate, like adding outdoor education opportunities, is a very political process and

change happens slowly. State boards of education set high academic achievement expectations

and rules for schools to follow. The local school boards create academic goals, choose the

curriculum, create the budget, control the school grounds, and set safety standards. The

superintendent and principals have to enforce all these decisions and meet these expectations

while balancing their own ideas for the school (A guide, n.d., pp. 2-9). The only way a new idea

can be implemented is if it helps a school meet their goals. I believe outdoor education can help

schools meet their goals and more. I believe outdoor education is important because it benefits

students' educational achievement, health, and spiritual life.

Educational Benefits

Producing high academic achievement in students seems to be the most important goal of

public schools (A guide, n.d., pp. 2-9). If a new program does not help with academic

achievement in some way, that program will probably not be implemented. There are a few

studies that detail the benefits of outdoor education on academic achievement that can help

inform educational boards and administrators about its importance. One study in Turkey details

how seventh grade students take a pre-test about life science, participate in outdoor life science

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activities, and then take a post-test in life science. The results show that outdoor education

increases the students’ achievement in the life science unit (​​Tas & Gulen, 2019).

Short term learning was not the only type of academic achievement that could be

positively affected by outdoor education, long term learning could be affected too. For example,

another study was done in Turkey with fourth grade students to determine whether or not outdoor

education activities influenced the academic achievement and recall of a social studies unit. The

researchers had a control group that received regular classroom education and an experiment

group that received outdoor instruction. These two groups learned the same unit content and took

the same pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. The outdoor education group scored

significantly higher than the control group on the first post-test. The outdoor students

remembered the information more effectively than the control group as well. The outdoor

education group’s post-test scores only dropped .3 points in the delayed post test, with scores

staying in the average of above 18 points. The control group’s post-test scores were a bit above

16 points. Their delayed post-test scores dropped to around 13.75 points. This result indicated

that outdoor education supported long term learning (Avci & Gümüs, 2020).

This was not the only study that supported this finding. A similar study was set up in the

United Kingdom. This study also used pre-tests, post-tests, and delayed post-tests to measure the

achievement of a control group that received traditional teaching methods and an experiment

group that received wilderness school once a week for six weeks. This study was done with

students between the ages of 8-11. It looked at the students’ changes in achievement levels in

math, reading, and writing. The study found that students who participated in wilderness school

significantly increased their math, reading, and writing achievement from pre-test to post-test

compared to the control group, especially in the area of writing. Not only that, their delayed

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post-test results were also better than the control group’s delayed post-tests results (Quibell,

Charlton, & Law, 2017).

Health Benefits

Educational achievement seems to be a high priority at most public schools. However,

some schools are adopting a “whole child education” approach. In this approach, educators

understand children’s academic development is connected to their social, emotional, and

cognitive development as well. Also, whole child educators recognize that a child’s physical and

mental health is connected to their development in these areas. Whole child educators want

schools to create learning environments, curriculums, and instruction that supports the whole

child. Outdoor education does not just have academic benefits, it has physical and mental health

benefits too. Whole child educators should advocate for outdoor education because of these

physical and mental benefits (Hernández, DePaoli, & Maier, n.d.).

There are many physical health benefits associated with spending time outdoors. Because

outdoor education takes children outdoors, students could gain these health benefits. People are

more physically active when they are outside, which leads to higher levels of exercise. Active

people tend to have longer life expectancies, better sleep, lower rates of cancer (Avitt, 2021), and

a healthier weight. Spending time in the sun also leads to health benefits. Exposure to early

morning sunlight helps regulate a person’s internal clock. Sunlight helps the body absorb

nutrients like vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus. The sun also stimulates a person’s infection

fighting T-cells. The sun is not the only outdoor element that can lead to immune system boosts.

Some plants release phytoncides into the air. These substances can boost a person’s immunity.

Time spent in green, plant filled, spaces cause other benefits. Focus and creativity increase and

ADHD symptoms decrease (Swiner, 2021). Also, people who live near green spaces are less

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likely to be diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Heart disease is a major concern in the United

States. Time spent outside relaxes the body by reducing cortisol amounts, muscle tightness, and

heart rate. This helps reduce the risk of heart disease (Avitt, 2021). Outdoor education can help

support the whole child by giving them all of these physical health benefits.

It is not just physical health that can be supported by outdoor education. There are also

mental health benefits associated with spending time outside. One of the most important is stress

relief (Louv, 2012, p. 66). Another is increasing focus, even for children with ADHD (Flom,

Johnson, Hubbard, & Reidt, 2011). Directed attention fatigue is a theory that says being forced to

pay attention for too long causes a person to lose mental effectiveness. A person who is

experiencing directed attention fatigue can be irritable and not make sound decisions. Spending

time outdoors can help fix this by allowing a person to experience involuntary attention, or

fascination, which calms and focuses the mind (Louv, 2012, p.28). On sunny days there are other

mental health benefits to experience. The sun increases serotonin levels and UV light increases

endorphin levels. Serotonin reduces anxiety and depression, and endorphins help a person feel

good. Increasing serotonin is not the only way going outside can help reduce depression.

Spending time outside can increase a person’s self esteem levels, which in turn lowers depression

levels (AgeEnvy Digital, 2020). Children who spend time outdoors also tend to have better

coping skills. More school counselors and educators should utilize outdoor education, not just for

the academic and physical health benefits, but for the mental health benefits as well (Flom,

Johnson, Hubbard, & Reidt, 2011).

Spiritual Benefits

Whole Child educators want to see their students develop academically, cognitively,

physically, mentally, socially and personally. Identity development is one of the key

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developmental areas (Hernández, DePaoli, & Maier, n.d.). As a Christian, I believe that people

can only find their identity when they find God. When someone accepts Jesus’ gift of salvation,

they become one of God’s children. That identity matters eternally. Unfortunately, a study

conducted by the Pew Research center reports that there has been a rise in the number of people

claiming no religious affiliation. Furthermore, a third of the people that claimed to have no

religious affiliation were under thirty years old. So many young people do not know God and are

trying to find their identity in places that cannot save them. Outdoor education can introduce

these young people to the Creator by showing them His creation (Norcross, 2021).

Outdoor education can help introduce people to God because of outdoor education’s

focus on nature study. When a person studies nature, they study what God has made. Studying

what God has made can help a person learn more about God. When a person learns more about

God, that can inspire worship and love (Watkins, 2020). Through nature, people can see

examples of God’s power as well as examples of resurrection and renewal. This can be an

incredible witnessing tool so that more people can come to know Jesus’ saving grace (Norcross,

2021). For outdoor education participants that are already Christians, outdoor education can help

them worship God (Watkins, 2020) and become a good steward of what He has made (Lowe,

2015). Because a person’s spiritual life is the only eternal part of their life, the spiritual benefits

of outdoor education alone are evidence enough of the importance of outdoor education.

Conclusion

Outdoor education is important because it is a powerful tool a school can use to meet the

goal of educating the whole child. Academically, it works by increasing student achievement.

Outdoor education provides physical and mental health benefits for the student as well. Most

importantly, there are spiritual benefits for students in outdoor education. If schools have the goal

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of educating the whole child, outdoor education is the key to succeeding in that goal. That is why

outdoor education is important and vital for the education system.

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 References

AgeEnvy Digital. (2020, June 26). Mental health benefits of the outdoors. Lifeworks. Retrieved

July 18, 2022, from https://lifeworkscc.com/mental-health-benefits-outdoors/

A guide to decision-making in schools [Leaflet]. (n.d.). Give Kids Good Schools.org.

https://publiceducation.issuelab.org/resources/14374/14374.pdf

Avci, G., & Gümüs, N. (2020). The Effect of Outdoor Education on the Achievement and Recall

Levels of Primary School Students in Social Studies Course. Review of International

Geographical Education Online, 10(1), 171–206.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.southern.edu/10.33403rigeo.638453

Avitt, A. (2021, March 24). The wellness benefits of the great outdoors. USDA Forest Service.

Retrieved July 18, 2022, from

https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/wellness-benefits-great-outdoors

Flom, B., Johnson, C., Hubbard, J., & Reidt, D. (2011). The Natural School Counselor: Using

Nature to Promote Mental Health in Schools. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health,

6(2), 118–131.

​Hernández, L. E., DePaoli, J., & Maier, A. (n.d.). Whole child education. Learning Policy

Institute. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/issue/whole-child-education

Louv, R. (2012). The nature principle. Algonquin Books.

Lowe, K. M. (2015, October 2). No child left inside on the holy earth: Liberty Hyde Bailey and

the spirituality of nature study. Oxford University Press's Academic Incites for the

Thinking World. Retrieved July 14, 2022, from

https://blog.oup.com/2015/10/liberty-hyde-bailey-spirituality-nature-study/

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Norcross, B. (2021, March 23). Helping people connect with God through nature. Lewis Center

for Church Leadership. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from

https://www.churchleadership.com/leading-ideas/helping-people-connect-with-god-throu

gh-nature/

Swiner, C. (Ed.). (2021, June 29). Health benefits of getting outside. WebMD. Retrieved July 14,

2022, from https://www.webmd.com/balance/ss/slideshow-health-benefits-nature

Tas, E., & Gulen, S. (2019). Analysis of the Influence of Outdoor Education Activities on

Seventh Grade Students. Participatory Educational Research, 6(2), 122–143.

Quibell, T., Charlton, J., & Law, J. (2017). Wilderness Schooling: A Controlled Trial of the

Impact of an Outdoor Education Programme on Attainment Outcomes in Primary School

Pupils. British Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 572–587.

Watkins, E. (2020, June 21). Nature study and the awe of God. Grow Christians. Retrieved July

13, 2022, from

https://www.growchristians.org/2020/06/21/nature-study-and-the-awe-of-god/