Nature Elements and Fundamental Motor Skill Development Opportunities at Five Elementary School Districts in British Columbia.

Christopher Lim,Patti-Jean Naylor,Andrew Donovan,Nevin Harper

doi:10.3390/ijerph14101279

Christopher Lim, Patti-Jean Naylor + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101279

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Abstract

The majority of Canadian children are not physically active enough for healthy development. School playgrounds are a primary location to promote physical activity and motor skill practice. The benefits of children’s play in nature have also been highlighted, but few studies have evaluated children’s access and exposure to nature for play on school grounds. This study examined children’s access to nature on school grounds and the opportunities afforded by those natural elements for motor skill practice. Results: Extensive naturescapes (multiple nature elements in one setting) were not common, and natural elements were limited, ranging from 1.97 to 5.71 elements/school. The most common element was a forested area (26.5% of all natural elements identified). In comparison to built structures, the number of natural elements was low. Some elements differed between school districts and appeared to be related to local geography and terrain (hilly, rocky terrain, tidal flats, etc.). Our assessment showed that naturescape elements afforded opportunities for the development of some key fundamental motor skills (FMS), specifically, locomotor and stability skills, but opportunities to develop manipulative skills were limited. To maximize potential FMS development, physical literacy, and psycho-social benefits, additional elements or more comprehensive multi-element naturescapes and facilitation (social or environmental) are recommended.

Highlights

Canadian children are currently not physically active enough for healthy development; with only9% of boys and girls meeting recommended levels of physical activity (PA) [1]
The potential contribution of natural elements as specific features of a playground environment to the development of gross motor movement skills remains unexamined. Within this context we posed the primary research questions: (1) what nature elements are currently available for child play on school grounds? and (2), what is the potential of these school playground microenvironment features to provide motor skill opportunities for elementary school-aged children? We provide context for the analysis using community-level socio-demographic and vulnerability measures from existing population health data sets and school district information
Prior to this study we found no literature on availability of natural elements at school grounds in British Columbia

Summary

Introduction

Canadian children are currently not physically active enough for healthy development; with only9% of boys and girls meeting recommended levels of physical activity (PA) [1]. With an emerging obesity epidemic, many different approaches to the promotion of PA across a variety of settings where children spend time are needed [1,2]. Models such as the social ecological model explain the effects of environmental inputs on health behavior [3,4,5,6]. Current trends of urbanization, dwindling natural spaces, and children’s reduced exposure to nature have led to research about the effects of nature on both physical and mental health and wellbeing [8,9]. A 2014 review of literature by Hartig et al [9] indicated that exposure to nature could contribute to physical benefits, buffer symptoms of obesity and diabetes, and benefit children’s

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Conclusion