A pilot program, offered to ORIGINS families through a collaboration between Nature Play WA and The ORIGINS Project, aimed to address the concerning trend for unhealthy behaviours in young children, contributing to long-term lifestyle habits.
Winding up its eight-week program last year, an evaluation of the Nature Play & Grow pilot showed that both parents and children benefited from participation in the program. Parent feedback showed their child became more engaged in nature, that they adopted some of the activities as a family, and that they learned new skills.
The intention of the Nature Play & Grow project was to help families unlock the mental and physical health benefits of connecting with nature and community through outdoor play, easily, and locally.
It was certainly successful in achieving this goal, with all parents endorsing the program and providing overwhelmingly positive feedback, demonstrating its effectiveness and value.
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The program had families meeting once a week in various local parks in their area, undertaking a number of nature-based activities at each session. Parents were also asked to watch weekly podcasts from child health and development experts and to complete questionnaires.
The program is essentially a hybrid between a play date, a parenting course, and a community group. Grounded in fun, social, activity, it is also informed by research and useful parenting information that can help set the scene for making local outdoor play a big part of families’ lives.
“I’m saying yes to more things rather than questioning whether we should do an activity or just saying no.” - Program participant
There is strong evidence that time in nature is associated with better child health including improved physical activity, eating behaviours, sleep quality and all aspects of physical and mental well-being.
The early intervention program provided young families with ideas and choices for how they can spend time together, with ideas based on this evidence.
There has been a significant shift from active, outdoor nature-based activities to more passive screen-based indoor activities — with an associated rise in psychological disorders, chronic disease, and a disconnect from the natural environment. The Nature Play & Grow program looked at addressing these concerns.
As part of the assessment of the efficacy of the program the ORIGINS team collected stool samples from participant families to assess the impact the increased time in nature had on their microbiome - their gut health - as well as their wellbeing. These samples are currently being analysed.
Channel 7 News met with Dr Lisa Gibson, ORIGINS’ Chief Investigator on the project, and Denise Ansingh, Program Facilitator from Nature Play WA, along with ORIGINS families, the Cashmans and the Allias, for a park play. They discussed the Nature Play & Grow program to create a news story on the importance of risky play for kids.
The story aired on the 6pm Channel 7 News broadcast on 2 Jan 2023. Watch the broadcast: