Eco-Capabilities as a Pathway to Wellbeing and Sustainability

Eco-Capabilities is an AHRC funded project situated at the intersection of three issues: a concern with children’s wellbeing; their disconnect with the environment; and a lack of engagement with arts in school curricula. It builds on Amartya Sen’s work on human capabilities as a proxy for wellbeing, developing the term eco-capabilities to describe how children define what they feel they need to live a fully good human life through environmental sustainability, social justice and future economic wellbeing. A total of 101 children aged 7–10 from schools in highly deprived areas participated in eight full days of arts in nature practice. The study drew on arts based research methods, participatory observations, interviews and focus groups with artists, teachers and children. Findings suggest that arts in nature practice contributed towards eight (eco-)capabilities: autonomy; bodily integrity and safety; individuality; mental and emotional wellbeing; relationality: human/nonhuman relations; senses and imagination; and spirituality. This was facilitated through four pedagogical elements: extended and repeated arts in nature sessions; embodiment and engaging children affectively through the senses; ‘slowliness’, which envelops children with time and space to (re)connect; and thoughtful practice, which facilitates emotional expression. We suggest that, through these elements, arts in nature practice supports children’s wellbeing, and guides them towards a more entangled relationship with nature and a clearer understanding of themselves as part of it, thereby motivating them to take better care of it

“It was like I was not a person, it was like I was the nature”: The impact of arts-in-nature experiences on the wellbeing of children living in areas of high deprivation

Background: Nature can weaken the negative effects of deprivation on health, shifting away from pathogenic models of health and supporting the wellbeing of disadvantaged groups. Nevertheless, children living in deprived areas are nine times less likely to have access to nature compared to more affluent children. Schools can facilitate equity of access to nature, thereby playing a crucial role in addressing health inequities. What has received scant attention in existing literature is how access to, and engagement with, nature can be facilitated through arts experiences. // Methods: ‘Eco-capabilities’ is a pilot study exploring the impact of the arts-in-nature practice - ‘Artscaping’ - on the wellbeing of 101 children (aged 7–10) living in areas of high deprivation. Qualitative and arts-based methods were used to understand children's, artists' and teachers' experiences of participating in the intervention. Quantitative methods were used to gain preliminary information on children's self-reported measures of wellbeing pre- and post-intervention. // Findings: Children's wellbeing was supported by the development of: self-confidence and self-esteem; agency; slowliness and calmness; and connectedness with nature. Although children's self-reported measures of wellbeing did not reach statistically significance, the most noticeable changes were that children felt happier with their life as a whole, spending time outdoors and doing things away from home, and more optimistic about what future holds for them. // Conclusions: This study developed the proof of concept for the arts-in-nature intervention. Future research should focus on scaling-up this intervention in primary, secondary and special schools in a wider range of geospatial contexts. Future research should also prioritise the collaboration between artists and teachers to ensure the sustainability of this practice beyond the scope of the research

Qualitative and Arts-Based Evidence from Children Participating in a Pilot Randomised Controlled Study of School-Based Arts Therapies

(1) Background: There is limited evidence on the impact of arts therapies as a tool for the prevention of mental health difficulties in childhood. This pilot randomised controlled study aimed to investigate the impact of arts therapies on children’s mental health and well-being; the qualitative and arts-based evidence is presented in this article. (2) Methods: Sixty-two children (aged 7–10) with mild emotional and behavioral difficulties were recruited across four primary schools and were randomly assigned to either art therapy, music therapy, dance movement therapy, or dramatherapy. All children were interviewed individually after their participation in arts therapies. (3) Results: Children verbally and artistically expressed that they experienced positive changes in their mental health and well-being, such as improved self-expression, safety, empowerment, hope, and optimism for the future. The arts were particularly important for expressing complex emotions and feelings that cannot be easily verbalised. Recommendations are provided to improve the quality of group arts therapies in future interventions, such as through smaller groups, longer sessions, and strategies to protect the therapeutic environment. (4) Conclusions: This study embraced all arts therapies as one research domain and set children’s verbal and non-verbal responses at the heart of outcome evaluation. This article highlights the importance of incorporating qualitative and arts-based methods to capture changes in children’s mental health well-being in future experimental studies

Eco-Capabilities: Arts-in-Nature for Supporting Nature Visibilisation and Wellbeing in Children

Estimates of mental health disorders and poor wellbeing among children and young people in England are escalating. While maintaining a positive relationship with nature is thought to promote personal and collective wellbeing, children and young people are spending less time outdoors, exhibiting a lack of appreciation for the environment and degrees of ‘plant blindness’. As such, there is a pressing need on behalf of schools to address these issues, and to adapt to students’ needs for a deeper and more purposeful connection with nature. This study aimed to explore the potential of one avenue to achieving this: arts-in-nature practice. This involved utilising arts-based research methods, through which 97 children aged 7–10 drew their ‘happy place’, alongside participatory observations, and interviews and focus groups with artists and teachers, as part of the wider Eco-Capabilities project. Findings suggest that following the arts-in-nature sessions there was a significant increase in the number of children’s drawings which featured nature as a main focus. This was achieved in three ways: by drawing newfound attention to nature; by attributing increased value to nature; and by explicitly placing nature within the purview of wellbeing. As such, we argue that creative pedagogies outdoors likely enhance what we term ‘nature visibilisation’ in children, an outcome necessary for their personal wellbeing and sustainability of the environment. This has significant implications for school practice in relation to how to support children’s mental health and wellbeing, alongside boosting interest in environmental sustainability and pro-environmental behaviour

A Systematic Review of Arts-Based Interventions Delivered to Children and Young People in Nature or Outdoor Spaces: Impact on Nature Connectedness, Health and Wellbeing

Background: The time that children and young people spend in nature and outdoor spaces has decreased significantly over the past 30 years. This was exacerbated with a further 60% decline post-COVID-19. Research demonstrating that natural environments have a positive impact on health and wellbeing has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions and green prescribing, although evidence for its use is predominantly limited to adults. Growing evidence also shows the impact of arts on all aspects of health and wellbeing. However, what has received scant attention in literature is the interconnection between the two: arts and nature. Aims: This review synthesizes the literature surrounding the interconnectedness between arts and nature, and their impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Methods: Eight major electronic databases were systematically searched, while hand-searching included 20 journals, six books, and contact with experts. The review was conducted using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews, PRISMA guidelines and TIDieR template. All stages were conducted independently by two researchers and the protocol was published on PROSPERO (Registration no.: CRD42021286574). Results: Although 9,314 records were identified, only 11 records were included as most studies focused either on arts or nature, but not both. Studies were conducted in United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, and Hong Kong, in a range of spaces such as forests, woodlands, beaches, parks, fields, gardens, and school playgrounds. The review encompasses data from 602 participants in total. Discussion: Arts-in-nature offered an inclusive medium to engage all children and young people, especially those who might otherwise remain disinterested about environmental issues and disengaged with educational programs. Further, arts-in-nature provided stimuli to increase nature connectivity, understand environmental issues and explore ways to prevent environmental disasters. This led to higher environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors, and potential decrease in eco-anxiety. Conclusion: Although the quality of qualitative studies was high, the quality of quantitative studies was low or unclear, thus quantitative evidence is still at its infancy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed, such as methods and activities to strengthen future interventions. Scaling-up existing interventions may lead to wider recognition and inclusion of arts-in-nature in future health guidelines, including green prescribing

Eco-Capabilities as a Pathway to Wellbeing and Sustainability

Eco-Capabilities is an AHRC funded project situated at the intersection of three issues: a concern with children’s wellbeing; their disconnect with the environment; and a lack of engagement with arts in school curricula. It builds on Amartya Sen’s work on human capabilities as a proxy for wellbeing, developing the term eco-capabilities to describe how children define what they feel they need to live a fully good human life through environmental sustainability, social justice and future economic wellbeing. A total of 101 children aged 7–10 from schools in highly deprived areas participated in eight full days of arts in nature practice. The study drew on arts based research methods, participatory observations, interviews and focus groups with artists, teachers and children. Findings suggest that arts in nature practice contributed towards eight (eco-)capabilities: autonomy; bodily integrity and safety; individuality; mental and emotional wellbeing; relationality: human/nonhuman relations; senses and imagination; and spirituality. This was facilitated through four pedagogical elements: extended and repeated arts in nature sessions; embodiment and engaging children affectively through the senses; ‘slowliness’, which envelops children with time and space to (re)connect; and thoughtful practice, which facilitates emotional expression. We suggest that, through these elements, arts in nature practice supports children’s wellbeing, and guides them towards a more entangled relationship with nature and a clearer understanding of themselves as part of it, thereby motivating them to take better care of it

A systematic review of child-focused outcomes and assessments of arts therapies delivered in primary mainstream schools

Introduction: Arts therapies have been widely used at schools for over half a century in an effort to alleviate and prevent children’s difficulties. In contrast to talking therapies, arts therapies aim to facilitate personal change and growth through the use of arts media. Existing systematic reviews are limited to one of the arts therapies (namely either art, music, drama or dance movement therapy), focus primarily on adults with mental health difficulties and neglect child reported outcome measures. Aim: The current systematic review aims to identify, appraise and synthesise the available evidence relating to outcomes that have been reported by children in primary mainstream schools (aged 5–12 years old). Methods: Major electronic databases were systematically searched, specifically: AMED, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, Campbell Collaboration Library, WHO ICTRP, Cochrane library databases, including CDSR, CENTRAL, HTA (01/01/1980 until 31/03/2018 published in English). The search included grey literature, journals of arts therapies and information from experts in the field. Results: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria; two pilot-RCTs, two quasi-RCTs, a cluster-RCT, a controlled before-after design, and a study with a grounded theory design. Three interventions were in music therapy, two in art therapy, and two in dance movement therapy. None of the studies in dramatherapy met the inclusion criteria. The interventions were delivered over 8–20 sessions, and lasted between 45 and 120 min, 1–3 times weekly. The sample sizes ranged between 14 and 138 participants, with a total of 358 participants. The interventions took place in USA, UK, Canada, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Children reported significant improvements from attending arts therapies on self-esteem, self-confidence, self-expression, mood, communication, understanding, resilience, learning, and aggressive behaviour, and small changes in the outcomes of depression, anxiety, attention problems, and withdrawn behaviours. Conclusions: The location, the delivery of arts therapies, the outcome assessments and the quality of the studies varied significantly, which taken together, suggests taking caution when interpreting the findings. What this systematic review does do is highlight areas for improvement in future research and practice based on evidence that is grounded on children’s perspectives. The implementation of these suggestions could increase the benefits for children’s health and wellbeing, and the wider inclusion of art therapies in national and international health-related guidelines

Public health for paediatricians: 15-minute guide to identify and address food insecurity

Food insecurity is a major problem in the UK. It has been both highlighted and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly affects children and young people (CYP). The effects of inadequate nutrition manifest themselves in all stages of child development and adversely affect health and educational outcomes. Healthcare professionals working with CYP can address food insecurity at individual, local community, organisational and national levels. The government plays an important role in monitoring and responding to food insecurity, supporting CYP most in need.This paper summarises how food insecurity can be identified and approached by healthcare professionals in clinical consultations, including the use of screening tools and awareness of risk factors that signpost family food insecurity. Examples of services and clinician-assisted referrals to support vulnerable patients are provided, alongside suggested methods to implement further education for the multidisciplinary healthcare team