Abstract
The links between green physical activity and wellbeing are increasingly well evidenced, and in this chapter, we will look at the ways in which woodland settings can promote movement and enjoyment of movement. Children monitored for levels of physical activity using accelerometers in case study one demonstrated that more pupils got active during outdoor learning in woodland compared to outdoor learning in school grounds or in the classrooms. A second case study explores teenagers’ vigorous, physical, playful activity at Forest School. The final case study follows adults and families getting physically active in the forest through arts-based interventions. Each study finds that nature’s biophilic effects and cues to behaviour and action are important in underpinning enjoyment and motivating movement amongst trees, woods and forests.
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Goodenough, A., Waite, S. (2020). Natural Sources of Physical Wellbeing. In: Wellbeing from Woodland. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32629-6_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32629-6_8
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