Children who grow up feeling close to nature are happier and more likely to become eco-friendly, compared to those who suffer from ‘nature deficit disorder’.
A Mexican research team surveyed nearly 300 children to find a link between ecological and sustainable awareness and feelings of happiness.
Children who felt connected to nature had a positive attitude towards sustainability practices such as recycling and reported higher levels of happiness.
The team said that parents and teachers should be encouraged to get kids out and about in the wild to both boost their happiness and protect the planet.
The study is the first to show that connectedness to nature makes children happier due to ‘their tendency to perform sustainable and pro-ecological behaviours’
As children are future custodians of this planet, research into how we can promote sustainable behaviour and environmental care in children is vitally important.
Otherwise, the new generation could develop what is known as ‘nature deficit disorder’, contributing to the destruction of the planet, according to the researchers.
‘Connectedness to nature is not just appreciating nature’s beauty, but also being aware of the interrelation and dependence between ourselves and nature, appreciating all of the nuances of nature, and feeling a part of it,’ said Dr Laura Berrera-Hernández at the Sonora Institute of Technology in Mexico.
The lack of a bond with the natural world is unlikely to result in desire to protect it, leading to nature deficit disorder.
As our planet faces growing threats from a warming climate, deforestation and mass species extinction, research focusing on the relationships between humans and nature is increasingly urgent to find solutions to today’s environmental issues.
To determine the scale of happiness and environmental awareness, the team surveyed 296 children between the ages of nine and 12 in Northwest Mexico.
All the participants were given a self-administered scale completed in school to measure their connectedness to nature, sustainable behaviours – defined as pro-ecological behaviour, frugality, altruism and equity – and happiness
They asked the children if they agreed with statements like ‘Humans are part of the natural world’ to determine how connected they were with nature.
They then determined if they were eco-friendly by asking questions such as ‘Do you separate empty bottles to recycle?’.
The team found children who felt closer to nature were more likely to adopt ‘sustainable practices’ and appeared happier.
Children between the ages of nine and 12 were asked to agree or disagree with statements on sustainable behaviour, including ‘I separate empty bottles to recycle’
‘Parents and teachers should promote children to have more significant contact or exposure to nature, because our results indicate that exposure to nature is related to the connection with it, and in turn, with sustainable behaviours and happiness,’ said Dr Berrera-Hernández.
The team hopes the results will help people understand the link between nature and wellbeing, and encourage young people to get outdoors and fight the so-called nature deficit disorder, a term previously coined by an American writer.
‘Despite the study’s limitations of only testing children from the same city, the results provide insight into the power of positive psychology of sustainability in children,’ say the research team.
‘If we are to develop environmental care and concern in younger generations, then initiatives to encourage and enable young people to spend more time in nature is a must.’
The study, which has been published in Frontiers in Psychology, did find, however, an almost zero correlation between frugality and happiness, suggesting children derive too much pleasure from the benefits of lavish spending.
While the study focused on children, similar findings have been found in adults.
The term ‘sustainable happiness’ was previously coined by Catherine O’Brien, a professor at Cape Breton University in Canada, to describe the satisfaction and positive feelings derived from recycling.
HOW MUCH RECYCLING ENDS UP IN LANDFILL?
Every day, millions of us drop a plastic bottle or cardboard container into the recycling bin – and we feel we’re doing our bit for the environment.
But what we may not realise is that most plastic never gets recycled at all, often ending up in landfill or incineration depots instead.
Of 30 billion plastic bottles used by UK households each year, only 57 per cent are currently recycled, with half going to landfill, half go to waste.
Most plastic never gets recycled at all, often ending up in landfill or incineration depots instead. Around 700,000 plastic bottles a day end up as litter
Around 700,000 plastic bottles a day end up as litter.
This is largely due to plastic wrapping around bottles that are non-recyclable.
Every year, the UK throws away 2.5 billion ‘paper’ cups, amounting to 5,000 cups a minute.
Shockingly, less than 0.4 per cent of these are recycled.
Most cups are made from cardboard with a thin layer of plastic.
This has previously posed issues with recycling but can now be removed.
Five specialist recycling plants in the UK have the capacity to recycle all the cups used on our high-streets.
Ensuring the paper cups end up in these plants and are not discarded incorrectly is one of the biggest issues facing the recycling of the paper vessels.
