Depression. It’s one of the most common psychological conditions affecting children and adolescents around the world. According to an international meta-analysis, 1 in 4 people aged 3 to 17 experienced clinically elevated depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Researchers caution that the pandemic isn’t entirely responsible for this trend. Between 2009 and 2019, the rates of adolescent depression in the United States increased from 8.1% to 15.8%—a jump larger than any seen to date. Though these numbers shocked Sylia Wilson and Nathalie Dumornay, the researchers behind the study, they remained hopeful, writing:

“With these challenges come opportunities to better…protect against adolescent depression, delineate the effects of depression on adolescent development and functioning, guide the most strategic and effective preventive-intervention efforts, and ultimately improve the lives of millions of adolescents.”

Identifying and advancing preventive-intervention efforts are an especially important area of focus, in part because mental health in childhood and adolescence is linked to wellness indicators well into adulthood.

The data also shows that young girls may be more susceptible to depression and need greater intervention as they enter the teen years. A 2022 study of adolescent mental health in Luxembourg showed that 28% of girls aged 11-18 are at risk of depression, compared to 14% of boys.

It’s a similar gender break-down when analyzing a potential contributor to this trend—social media. The study found that problematic use of social networks escalated for both genders since 2018, but affected twice as many girls (12%) as boys (6%).

Effective intervention efforts require a deep understanding of not only the contributing factors, but also realistic solutions.

One solution showing improved outcomes for several psychological conditions in young people, including and especially depression, is nature immersion.

Sensory engagement

The practice of forest immersion, or sensory engagement in a forested environment, was shown in a 2022 study to naturally reduce levels of cortisol—the body’s main stress hormone. This is particularly important for adolescent depression, as research shows elevated cortisol levels can predict the onset of the disorder in young people.

Educators such as Jarod Wunneburger know first-hand that sensory experiences found in nature can support the mental health of young people.

“There’s something rhythmic about nature—we know what the trees will do, we know what the lake lapping against the shore will sound like. There’s a comfort in predictability,” he says. “Nature also allows kids to be wiggly in a way they can’t in a school setting. They’re allowed to sit on a rock or on the ground, play with the mud in their hands, they are allowed to touch and interact with things.”

These are the kinds of experiences that Wunneburger and his team facilitate for children and adolescents at Farm and Wilderness Camps, a collection of nature-based summer programs in Vermont, where he serves as Director of Camps. “There’s a sort of re-wilding that happens because they start feeling comfortable in nature,” he says.

That level of comfort with nature, with themselves, and with each other is key to building confidence and resilience. Some of that confidence also comes from an improved capacity for learning, says Marinella Pro, who is the Director of Village Forest School in Montaldo, Italy.

The kindergarten through 8th grade, Italian-English school puts special emphasis on sensory experiences in nature because, as Pro points out, “Children need to move, it’s not in their nature to sit down for hours on end. So just by moving naturally in the woods, they are preparing themselves to learn.”

For example, she says her middle schoolers’ memory for botany is vastly improved because they are out learning about mushrooms and leaves in nature, rather than the classroom. “All of the senses are involved, which goes straight to the neurons in the brain and the synapses are created.”

“You will find a way to reach a child when you engage their senses. For younger children, this could mean going outside and counting what’s around. Or preparing them for the act of writing by observing straight lines and curved lines in nature. It’s a softer way to teach and to learn, but not necessarily any slower. It’s just different. It considers the whole child and the whole child’s needs.”

When cognitive, and thus academic skills improve, children’s perspective of their own competence improves as well—adding another layer to their defenses against depression.

Social support

Environmental psychological theory suggests that contact with nature boosts social relationships and helps children understand their place in the world. In fact, free play in outdoor settings is considered a hallmark of socialization.

Pro says nature affords children time to explore with their peers without as much adult intervention and with greater opportunities for role-modeling that can accelerate their growth and bolster self-worth. “Children observe older children and they say to themselves, “When I’m in middle school, I can climb that tall tree.”

Frank Grindrod is the founder of Earthwork Programs based in Massachusetts, which offer immersive experiences in nature for people of all ages, and is the author of the book Wilderness Adventure Camp: Essential Outdoor Survival Skills for Kids. He says nature encourages pro-social attitudes and behavior in two ways: First, it offers a non-judgement zone. “Nature is not judging you. So when we give kids time to be alone in nature, we’re helping to facilitate that,” he says.

After this solo time, there is inevitably a coming back together for some kind of shared experience, and that’s when nature delivers the second gift. “People have judgment over what’s different from them, but if you have common experience shared together, it’s harder to judge someone. Feeling connected like that helps with anxiety, loneliness, depression, and becoming more resilient,” says Gindrod.

Healthy role-modeling and peer connection is important for all children, but particularly for youth predisposed to depressive symptoms. Opportunities to build social skills in natural settings helps at-risk youth establish mental health well into their future.

Conversely, people who, particularly as children, gravitated to staying inside, often seem to be more disconnected from their peers, be more sedentary or inactive, have higher levels of c-reactive proteins and cortisol and eat energy-dense and unhealthy foods, according to a 2019 study.

Some of that may be due to over-reliance on screens for entertainment, learning, and socialization, a trend that Wunneburger has observed over his 20-year career of working with students, particularly post-COVID. “Struggling with inner strength is really a thing. Kids understand less how to exist in a group, to ask for something, to go up and introduce themselves, to share things. They are more reticent to play pick-up games, and they are quicker to withdraw.”

Take-aways

Improving young people’s access to nature has never been more important, and there are accessible and affordable ways to do it. Below, our three experts in the field share their favorite activities to do with children and adolescents in nature.

Routines & Traditions

Over her 20-year career, Pro has observed the importance of both routine moments in nature, as well as traditions that celebrate nature’s seasonality.

Pro suggests the routine of a morning walk, or any time a parent and child are free to wander together. “Even 15 minutes is okay, even on the sidewalk, to the end block,” she says. “The discipline of doing this every day creates routine, and then you start to notice things.

At a nature immersion school where Pro taught in Wisconsin, they would help children to celebrate the long winter months by taking them to play in the mountain of snow created by the snowplow. “Even the shiest of the children will look and say, ‘I can climb a mountain of snow?!’ If adults do it, then they will naturally follow you. If they are appropriately dressed, they will take to it,” she says.

If you get push-back when establishing these routines or seasonal traditions, Pro says give it a little time. “Children are wonderful, because it just takes two months to change a habit.”

Engaging the Senses

Creating sensory experiences in natural environments is one of Gindrod’s specialties as a coach and program facilitator. Gindrod likes to use an exercise created by author and naturalist Tom Brown Jr, where children are asked to find an animal’s hair. “All of a sudden they are engaging their senses, and that’s what we want to do,” Gindrod says.

You can further stimulate their curiosity by launching investigations in nature. For example, try to find an animal track together. Then pose a progressive series of questions that make them wonder, such as:

How many toes do you see?
What direction was this animal moving in?
What three animals do you think this could be?
Point into the direction that you think the animal went next?
Can you feel with your body where this animal is right now?

Gindrod says these types of activities can help children expand their understanding of both the natural world and their inner world. “It’s about taking them on a journey,” he says.

Creating Threads of Awareness

In nature, Gindrod says it’s important to help children see more than “a wall of green”, and really be able to differentiate trees and plants as special from each other—just like we are. In order to do this, he suggests children pick a consistent spot in nature in which to unplug and reset, doing their best to make it at the same time each day.

“We’re constantly doing, and children need the opportunity to just be rather than do. Then they get to practice being, and they’ll also start to notice things and bring stuff back,” he says. A mini “nature museum” in the home where children can display the treasures they’ve found—a rock collection, a leaf display, an arrangement of feathers, or even a simple acorn in the home creates what Gindrod calls, “a thread of awareness to the natural world.”

Light in the Darkness

Driving out after dark to look at the stars can be a fun and memorable adventure for both younger children and adolescents, says Wunneburger. He also recommends watching light turn to darkness around a campfire. “As the sun comes down and darkness comes around them, kids tend to settle into each other,” he says. “The conversation becomes really profound and thoughtful in a way that only nature can afford.”

Parents, grandparents, educators, and anyone invested in the development of a young person can try some of these simple ideas at any time, during any season. There are no side-effects. There is no prescription. It requires minimal planning. And the research underscores that it works on everyone—adults included.

Sources

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Gray, T. (2018) Outdoor learning: Not new, just newly important. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327419815_Outdoor_learning_not_new_just_newly_important

Health Behavior in School-Aged Children. (2022). https://men.public.lu/fr/actualites/communiques-conference-presse/2024/10/17-etude-hbsc.html

Milligan, C and Bingley, A. (2007). Restorative places or scary spaces? The impact of woodland on the mental well-being of young adults. Restorative places or scary spaces? The impact of woodland on the mental well-being of young adults - PubMed (nih.gov)

Mygind, L., et al. (2019) Mental, physical and social health benefits of immersive nature-experience for children and adolescents: A systematic review and quality assessment of the evidence. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1353829218310761?via%3Dihub

Owens, M., et al. (2014). Elevated morning cortisol is a stratified population-level biomarker for major depression in boys only with high depressive symptoms. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24550453/

Racine, N., et al. (2021). Global Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Children and Adolescents During COVID-19. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2782796

Scott, S., et al. (2022). The Impact of Time Spent in Natural Outdoor Spaces on Children’s Language, Communication and Social Skills: A Systematic Review Protocol. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9566327/

Sheldrake, R. et al. (2019). Children and Nature: A Research Evaluation for the Wildlife Trusts. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/Children%20and%20Nature%20-%20UCL%20and%20The%20Wildlife%20Trusts%20Full%20Report.pdf

Summers, K. (2019). The Role of Interaction with Nature in Childhood Development: An Under-Appreciated Ecosystem Service. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7424505/

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Ye, Z., et al. (2021). Role of inflammation in depression and anxiety: Tests for disorder specificity, linearity and potential causality of association in the UK Biobank. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00272-8/fulltext

Johanna Sorrentino is a writer and content strategist specializing in health, science, and education. You can read more of her work and connect with her on LinkedIn.

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