Biophilia: Does Visual Contact with Nature Impact on Health and Well-Being?

Bjørn Grinde 1,* and Grete Grindal Patil 2
1 Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404 Nydalen, 0403 Oslo, Norway
2 Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway; E-Mail: grete.patil@umb.no

It is concluded that an environment devoid of Nature may act as a ―discord‖, i.e., have a negative effect. While the term mismatch is used for any difference between present living conditions and the environment of evolutionary adaptation, discords are mismatches with a potentially undesirable impact on health or quality of life. The problem is partly due to the visual absence of plants, and may be ameliorated by adding elements of Nature, e.g., by creating parks, by offering a view through windows, and by potted plants. The conclusion is based on an evaluation of some fifty relevant empirical studies.

Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning

Gerald A. Lieberman Ph.D. and Linda L. Hoody, M.A.

Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning (EIC) defines a framework for education: a framework for interdisciplinary, collaborative, student-centered, hands-on, and engaged learning. It has begun to transofrm curricula in a growing number of schools across the United States and may have the potential to significantly imporve K-12 in America.

Dr. Roberta Bondar Environmental Report

By the Working Group of Environmental Education June 2007

Over the past decade, changes in the Earth’s environment and its natural systems
have emerged as a matter of increasingly urgent concern around the world. While
the issues are complex and diverse, there is a shared and universal recognition that
solutions will arise only through committed action on a global, national, regional,
local, and individual scale. Schools have a vital role to play in preparing our young
people to take their place as informed, engaged, and empowered citizens who will
be pivotal in shaping the future of our communities, our province, our country, and
our global environment.

REASONS TO GARDEN:

School Gardens Improve Academic Performance

University of California Garden Based Learning Workgroup

For Teachers and Administrators

“Learning comes alive in a school garden! All subjects can be taught in this dynamic hands-on environment. From reading to science, math to nutrition, it’s all possible. With bales of straw as chairs, clipboards as desks, and the garden as their classroom,students’ textbook lessons come to life as butterflies metamorphose, works decompose, plant growth is recorded, fresh corn is eaten, and sensory poetry is created.

California Academic Content Standards are growing, too! Everything we know about good teaching is magnified in a school garden: student engagement, meaningful, relevant lessons, use of manipulatives, cooperative learning, and exploration and discovery. There is no better environment than the garden in which to plant the seeds of knowledge,experience the joy of learning, and harvest a bountiful crop of lifelong learners.”

--- Martha Deichler, Superintendent, former School Principal

“We don’t have time to garden. We need to use every available minute of class time to

focus on meeting the standards.” What’s often overlooked in our concern as educators in meeting the standards and facilitating a positive student performance on standardized

tests is that garden-based education provides a superb vehicle to help us accomplish our vital work in these areas.

Student Achievement and the EEI

Author Unknown

The Curriculum for California’s Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) is designed to:

~help students achieve mastery of the State’s academic content standards.

~integrate with adopted instructional materials.

The plan for the EEI curriculum was developed in cooperation with the State Department of Education, State Board of Education/Curriculum Commission, Governor’s Secretary of Education, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Waste Management Board and Resources Agency.

The EEI Curriculum is being designed to complement State-adopted instructional materials. After field and pilot-testing and revisions, it will be reviewed by the Curriculum Commission before being submitted to the State Board of Education for final approval. Since the EEI Curriculum is not yet complete nor has it been assessed, it is not possible to present evidence regarding its effects on student achievement. However, there is a growing body of evidence from national studies indicating achievement increases when students learn academic content standards through environment-based instructional strategies. The National Environmental Education &Training Foundation’s report “Environmental Literacy in America—2005” summarized many of these studies as follows:

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