EECERA Conference 2025 – Guest Blog # 47: Understanding how human-nature connection develops in the early years

One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA.

Understanding how human-nature connection develops in the early years

By Dr. Charlie Whitham

Photo of the author Charlotte Whitham and her youngest daughter, Betty; Photo by Kateřina Malinová

Some critical and fascinating research has revealed the important role of human-nature connection (HNC) in helping nurture and support a child’s development. For example, we have heard about how connecting to nature can lead to learning and cognitive developmental benefits (e.g. Taniguchi et al., 2005) and health and well-being benefits (e.g. Chawla, 2015), amongst many others.

However, there is one important aspect of a young child’s development that we also need to consider: the development of their ability to face and cope with the current and likely-to-worsen environmental crises. Having a stronger HNC has been correlated with more pro-environmental behaviours (e.g. Barragan-Jason et al., 2022); Furthermore, other studies have highlighted links between environmental education (linked to encouraging HNC) and benefits in terms of more strategic thinking, empathy or collaborative skills – all of which will also be of use in facing environmental crises.

In my upcoming presentation at EECERA 2025 (and future publications!), I will ask:

• Why is developing human-nature connectedness important for early year’s children?
• Why is our understanding of how HNC develops in early childhood critical for sustainability agendas?
• I will then draw on findings from an ongoing literature review that helps point to some of the key factors important for the development of HNC in early childhood, whilst also highlighting some crucial gaps in this empirical evidence….particularly for this age-group.

Essentially, we need to better understand how human-nature connection develops in early childhood, and going further, how this development differs across countries, contexts and cultures; The better this understanding, the better placed we are to inform sustainability-related practice and policy which supports just, equitable opportunities for all children to connect with nature. I believe this will be another important piece of the puzzle as we celebrate diversity and seek inclusion at EECERA 2025.

During my session, I am really looking forward to sharing these ideas with other participants; learning more about how encouraging HNC development in the early years might provide wider benefits and complimentarity to your specific fields of interest; and to explore how to make the outputs from this ongoing work as useful and as relevant as possible for early years educators, carers and parents.

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Email: whitham.c@czechglobe.cz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-horáková-34530131/

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charlotte-Whitham?ev=hdr_xprf

ORCID Number: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3832-6714

Dr. Charlie Whitham will present work referred to in this blog in Symposium Set B10 | Tuesday 26th August 2025 (Schedule liable to change; please refer to final programme for details).