Interdisciplinary nature journaling improves mood and helps build connection in middle school students
Nature journaling supports students’ well-being and environmental awareness
Two distinct aims of education in the U.S. are centered on supporting children’s mental health as well as increasing children’s environmental literacy. To achieve these aims, it is important to identify “actionable strategies” that can be easily adapted to fit into the curriculum and content-area standards. This study examined how nature journaling may provide a feasible approach that can be utilized in schools to support both well-being and environmental literacy. Specifically, the study assessed the impact of interdisciplinary nature journaling on student mood, stress, and connection to self, others, and the environment.
Sixty-one students in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades at a small public school in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York participated in the study. An interdisciplinary nature journaling activity was developed in alignment with New York State middle school English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum standards. The nature journaling activity was conducted on school grounds, which included many acres of forested greenspace, for a duration of 75-minutes. Students began the nature journaling activity sitting alone in nature with a three-minute, silent observation. Students could then use optional journaling prompts to guide them in recording their observations, writing a story about an object in nature, and creating drawings. Students completed surveys in the classroom using their Chromebooks before and after the nature journaling activity. The pre- and post-surveys were comprised of the same questions. The first question asked students to rate their mood as “Silly, Happy, Angry, Frustrated, Peaceful, Sad, Neutral, or Excited.” To assess changes in perceptions of connection to self, others, and nature, students were asked to rank the following questions: “How stressed do you feel right now?”, “How connected do you feel to your emotions right now?”, “Do you feel valued right now?”, “How connected do you feel to the people in this class?”, “Do you understand how your actions affect the natural world?”, and “Is spending time in nature important to you?” Students were also asked to report their feelings about the nature journaling activity itself. Survey responses were analyzed quantitatively.
Results indicate that, overall, nature journaling significantly improved students’ mood, with students reporting more positive moods, such as happy and peaceful, after the activity. Significant gains in students’ reports of social-emotional constructs were also detected after nature journaling. These included feeling less stressed, more connected to their emotions, and more valued by others. On the other hand, no significant changes were detected in students’ sense of connection to others in the class. Regarding environmental awareness, significant improvements were identified in students’ understanding of how their actions affect the natural world. Additionally, after nature journaling, students’ perception of the importance of spending time in nature significantly increased. In response to the question “How do you feel about nature journaling?”, the majority of students reported neutral (10%), positive (38%), or very positive (36%) feelings about the activity. Overall, 72% of the students “expressed mild to extreme appreciation for both nature and the nature journaling activity itself, as well as feeling calmer.”
The study demonstrates “that a relatively simple 75-minute interdisciplinary nature journaling activity conducted on school grounds” significantly improved middle school students’ mood, socio-emotional outcomes, environmental awareness, and value for time in nature. Findings highlight the potential of environmental education activities to simultaneously support student well-being and facilitate the development of environmental literacy, while meeting content-area learning standards.
Citation
Arbor, R. N., Matteson, K., (2024). Interdisciplinary nature journaling improves mood and helps build connection in middle school students. Environmental Education Research, 37(4),
