Nature Play

Period shame stops countless girls from continuing sport. The Women’s World Cup can help break this stigma

Michelle O'Shea, Western Sydney University; Hazel Maxwell, Western Sydney University, and Kylie A Steel, Western Sydney University In the lead up to the first FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted in the Southern Hemisphere, host nations Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are forging other firsts, including efforts to break the shame, stigma and taboo that continue [...]

By |2023-08-02T10:41:58+10:00August 2nd, 2023|Categories: Nature Play, Resilience|Tags: |0 Comments

Why learning to surf can be great for your mental health, according to a psychologist

Lisa Olive, Deakin University Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good. Now our preliminary study in children and adolescents adds to growing evidence that surfing really is good for your mental health. But you don’t have to [...]

By |2023-01-24T11:47:08+11:00January 24th, 2023|Categories: Nature Play|Tags: |0 Comments

How to get the most out of sand play: 4 tips from a sculptor

Sanné Mestrom, University of Sydney One of the things kids love most about the beach is the chance to play with sand. Sand is an excellent material to play with. It is versatile, widely available, open-ended and cheap. Not only is it nature-based, but it involves manipulation, exploration, and construction with materials to create [...]

By |2023-01-20T15:11:46+11:00January 16th, 2023|Categories: Nature Play|Tags: |0 Comments

This new ‘risky’ playground is a work of art – and a place for kids to escape their mollycoddling parents

Sanné Mestrom, University of Sydney Imagine this: a heap of colourful plastic buckets stacked on top of each other to form a climbable bridge, monolithic bluestone boulders holding up a contorted slide, a pile of concrete demolition debris moonlighting as a resting spot. At every point, children can be seen swinging their bodies from warped, [...]

By |2022-11-11T13:23:45+11:00November 10th, 2022|Categories: Nature Play, Resilience|0 Comments

Real dirt, no fake grass and low traffic – what to look for when choosing a childcare centre

Anne-Marie Morrissey, Deakin University and Deborah Moore, Monash University Choosing a childcare centre for your child can be a challenging process. To start with, choices may be limited if there are not many childcare centres in the area where you live or work. Or if the waiting lists are full. We know there are “childcare [...]

By |2022-11-07T17:49:04+11:00November 7th, 2022|Categories: Nature Play|0 Comments

Missing out on PE during lockdowns means students will be playing catch-up

By Jora Broerse, Victoria University; Cameron Van der Smee, Federation University Australia, and Jaimie-Lee Maple, Victoria University International evidence suggests children have poorer movement skills as a result of COVID-related lockdowns that reduced physical activity at school, socially and in the community. In parts of Australia, learning from home replaced face-to-face classroom teaching for months [...]

By |2021-11-01T11:51:13+11:00November 1st, 2021|Categories: COVID, Education, Learning, Mental Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play|Tags: |0 Comments

Physical activity is critical for children’s quality of life

By Associate Professor Kim Dalziel, Dr Li Huang , Dr Natalie Carvalho and Xiuqin Xiong  One thing that most families learn at some point – particularly during lockdown – is that balancing a child’s screen time with physical activity isn’t an easy task. Although research and parental guides tell us that time on screens, sleep [...]

By |2021-09-20T13:30:46+10:00September 20th, 2021|Categories: Nature Play, Wellbeing|Tags: |0 Comments

Climate change: Collective action a counterpoint to Australian government inaction

This article was co-authored with Rebecca Patrick, a climate-health researcher. As leading scientists call on the world to avert an impending climate catastrophe, Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded with this: “There is not a direct correlation between the action that Australia takes and the temperature in Australia.” Effectively, Scott Morrison is reasserting his already refuted [...]

By |2021-08-23T11:53:31+10:00August 23rd, 2021|Categories: Nature Play, Science & Research, Society & Culture|Tags: |0 Comments

Do you think better when you’re moving?

Dr Hossein Mokhtarzadeh, Dr Jason Forte and Professor Peter Lee Do you like to pace while you think? You are not alone if you do. Aristotle, Dickens, Beethoven and many other great thinkers often walked when they were deep in thought. Two hundred years or so later, research from Stanford University suggests that going for [...]

By |2021-05-31T12:00:04+10:00May 31st, 2021|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play|0 Comments

We’re all ingesting microplastics at home, and these might be toxic for our health. Here are some tips to reduce your risk

Mark Patrick Taylor, Macquarie University; Neda Sharifi Soltani, Macquarie University, and Scott P. Wilson, Macquarie University Australians are eating and inhaling significant numbers of tiny plastics at home, our new research shows. These “microplastics”, which are derived from petrochemicals extracted from oil and gas products, are settling in dust around the house. Some of these [...]

By |2021-05-03T16:32:10+10:00May 3rd, 2021|Categories: Diet & Nutrition, Nature Play|0 Comments
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