Reconnecting Children with Nature: Biophilic Junior Level Learning Environment Design

More than half of all humanity now live in urban centres. In westerns counties generally at least 80% of people’s time is spent indoors. This means that people are spending less time outside and in places that can be considered ‘nature’. This is problematic because quantitative and qualitative research shows that isolation from the natural world negatively affects human well-being, suggesting that it is essential that nature is a constant part of humans’ lives. This ‘nature deficit’ also impacts the development of personal bonds with nature which relates to learning to value and protect nature, and particularly affects young children. As children grow up in environments increasingly removed from nature, how will children form personal bonds with the living world if they spend their key developmental years removed from it? To address this issue, this design-led research asks: how can we reconnect children with nature using biophilic design in junior level learning environments? This question was explored through design-led research methodologies, primarily using an iterative design process, a ‘triangulation’ approach to research, and two sets of user-based interrogative research. This included a workshop with children aged 5-7 and a New Zealand primary school teachers’ survey. These were conducted to gain insight into user opinions and preferences. Observations, discussions and results were combined and compared with related literature and initial design testing, and then refined into a set of key design elements (see chapter 8.0). These elements were found to be critical in creating well-functioning learning environments that offer biophilic potentials to improve learning, and directly appeal to the users. These elements were tested, developed, and refined through the design of a block of junior level classrooms, in Wellington, New Zealand. Design explorations resulted in a proposed spatial solution that encourages children to interact with and experience nature on a regular basis, with the intention of stimulating the development of a personal bond with and value for the natural world.