There is a growing realisation that children benefit by being involved in ‘wild’ spaces. They need dynamic and complex outdoor environments and opportunities for risk and challenge, to play with abandon, to have first-hand experiences – places where there is adventure, delight, laughter, daring and joy.

Children in Wild Nature:

• provides a background to bush, forest and beach schools
• outlines the challenges and benefits
• explores the concept of nature-based practice
• emphasises the importance of free play
• includes a selection of case studies in which educators share their journeys into ‘wild nature’
• provides a starting point for giving nature-based practice a go.It assists educators to unpack their legislative requirements so they can meet all health and safety requirements while carefully weighing the risks and benefits.

It takes richly resourced, vibrant environments for learners to be all they can possibly be, and this has everything to do with connection to the natural world. It is a complex interplay between people, places and things that nurture children’s capacity to learn. Teachers and educators who understand the way children are drawn into learning through dispositions such as curiosity, persisting with things that interest them and then, with effort and practice, build their knowledge and skills, and realise the emotional nature of learning.