Fallen tree trunks became balancing beams: nature play as a means for emerging adults to identify with ecological systems

Introduction

Post-secondary education is a key period for the development of identity, purpose, independence, and emotional management for emerging adults (ages 18 to 25), particularly within the traditional Western education system (Chickering and Reisser, 1993; Newman and Newman, 1978). Braskamp and Engberg (2011) argue that college, as a crucial time of exploration and self-realization, is an ideal space for cultivating a global perspective. However, this discussion notably excludes the notion of global ecology - our place within and as part of the broader planetary ecosystem. As today’s college students experience an increasingly urbanized, technological world which limits direct exposure to nature and heightens awareness of ongoing ecological degradation, they exhibit both feelings of separation from global ecological systems and anxiety about their future (Gienger et al., 2024; Grant et al., 2025).

Given that spending time in natural spaces has been extensively linked to improvements in mental and physical health (Bell et al., 2026; Brown et al., 2013; Capaldi et al., 2015; Ibes and Forestell, 2022; Russell et al., 2013), growing dissociation from the natural world is a particularly dire reality for emerging adults. Puhakka (2021) advocates for the importance of promoting outdoor recreation for college-aged individuals to prevent declines in connectedness to nature and promote well-being benefits. The transition from adolescence, characterized by a ‘time out’ from nature (Kaplan and Kaplan, 2002), to adulthood, when an affinity for nature and outdoor recreation is often revived (Hughes et al., 2019; Anderson and Krettenauer, 2021), is a critical period for the cultivation of a strong relationship with nature.

Beyond connecting with nature, it’s vital that college students are given the opportunity to reclaim their identity as an aspect of ecological systems. This reclamation of identity is aligned with Naess’ (1973) theory of deep ecology, which moves away from a shallow, anthropocentric worldview and toward a relational, total-field view that “humans are one with nature and should experience nature as such” (Ikeke, 2020, p. 84). Though traditional paradigms of the maturation of “self” exclude the influence of nature, the realization of the “ecological self” (Naess, 1987) is a process particularly relevant for emerging adults. Ecological selfhood, which Nisbet et al. (2009) describe as our sense of identification with planetary ecosystems, may be the basis of cultivating non-material, community-based sources of well-being (Pal, 2025). Identifying with ecological systems also contributes to pro-environmental behavior (Clayton and Kilinç, 2013; Kiesling and Manning, 2010). Personal health, including that derived from time in nature, is therefore symbiotic with planetary health; to neglect the environment is to neglect ourselves (Naess, 1987). Pal (2025) argues that realization of the ecological self through educational and experiential practices should therefore be “the primary focus of a meaningful sustainability agenda.” Such practices promote intra-connectedness, mutual reciprocity, and holistic thinking which counters reductionist views of ecological systems and deconstructs ego-centric notions of selfhood (Cousquer et al., 2025; Siegel, 2022), a shift vital to bolstering conservation efforts.

Campus Nature Rx (CNRx) is one promising, nationwide organization which recognizes the necessity of reassociation with nature as a low-cost, high-return mode of improving student well-being (Rakow and Eells, 2019; Campus Nature Rx Network, 2025). CNRx initiatives vary between each of its over 100 member institutions, and include providing peer ‘prescriptions’ of outdoor time for students, establishing infrastructure for campus green spaces, and coordinating nature-based activities and courses (Rakow and Ibes, 2022).

As third-year students at the College of William and Mary pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience (Julia) and a B.A. in English and Psychology (Alexandra), we recognize the beauty and value of our college’s natural spaces. We experience joy and stress relief while walking through the grassy lawn at the center of our campus (Sunken Gardens), looking for turtles within the pond (the Crim Dell), and sitting beside the lake (Lake Matoaka) after a long day of classes. We welcome the continued growth of CNRx at our college and others nationwide as a powerful network for facilitating students’ identification as part of campus ecological systems. How may we continue to build practices of identification with the natural world both on and off campuses through CRNx-like initiatives? How can post-secondary institutions promote practices and perspectives which contextualize humans within broader Earth systems and build lifelong connections between students and the natural world?

In this Perspective, we will explore these questions through examining the evidence-backed benefits of student connection with non-human nature and discussing play within natural spaces as an opportunity to promote student belonging in ecological systems. We propose nature play as an intentional, unstructured mode for emerging adults to identify deeply with natural places and realize ecological selfhood. In accordance with the Research Topic of “Putting People in their Place,” we identify college campuses as influential spaces where emerging adults can learn to realign themselves within ecological systems. Further, we share a personal experience with nature play (Box 1) and recommend three play-based, CNRx-facilitated approaches for fostering a return to nature on college campuses (Box 2).

Alexandra’s Nature Play Experience in “Ecotherapy & The Good Life”

Dr. Dorothy Ibes set up her “Ecotherapy and The Good Life” class with a series of “experientials” – opportunities for nature immersion during class time in which we abandoned our usual classroom to explore a different theme each week. These “experientials” complemented the twice-weekly lecture and discussion topics, enabling students to directly engage with nature and ecotherapeutic practices while building a personal “toolkit” of resources for their own health and well-being. “Experientials” ranged from nature-based mindfulness to physical exercise in nature-rich environments and, depending on the day, we might be encouraged to bring a picnic blanket or rain gear.

During class discussions, students highlighted one experience as particularly impactful: nature play. For our nature play “experiential,” the class met in the grassy area behind one of the residence halls - one of several on-campus green spaces we cycled through for our outdoor activity each week. It was an unassuming space next to a vegetable garden, tucked away and infrequently used by students. Yet, this neglected spot on campus was the perfect area for our class: it opened up to a stretch of woods, which ended about a quarter mile away. As a class, we knew these woods were open to us at Professor Ibes’ cue, or when creating our reflections on each “experiential” (via writing or art) at the end of the class time.

The nature play activity was facilitated by a student, who emphasized that the assignment to express ourselves through play was open-ended and judgement-free. At the instruction “Go!”, the class hesitated and shuffled awkwardly, until one student “tagged” a classmate and chaos broke loose.

Once playtime began, the options were endless. I decorated a barren tree with two classmates by scavenging for fallen berries, dead twigs, and sweetgum balls. Fallen tree trunks became balancing beams, and one student climbed a tree. A few classmates were brave enough to test if a low-hanging vine could support their body weight and successfully used it as a swing.

As we played, our group grew. The games we invented were easy to join and start conversations about, offering opportunities to connect with new people. The joy and silliness of the activity were contagious – a return to the thrill of childhood recess. When it was time to pack up, my classmates and I left grinning. Speaking for myself, this elevated mood lasted for the rest of the day.

Nature play enabled me to experience a deep sense of “place” in nature, through sensory exploration, spontaneity, and the ability to interact directly with the natural world. The activity spurred a personal desire to spend more time in green spaces, including for the purpose of play. Most significantly, it grounded my future interactions with non-human nature in curiosity, appreciation, and attention to detail by forcing me to adopt a perspective of childlike wonder. This awareness enabled nature and I to listen and respond to one another. I heeded a jagged climbing rock’s invitation to play, and, with a newly perceptive eye, I noticed and picked up an out-of-place candy wrapper at the rock’s base. In this way, play invited me to actively converse with the non-human world.

Recommendations for encouraging nature play among college students

• Initiate time-based challenge activities through CNRx and student wellness service outreach on campuses, mimicking Canada’s 30x30 Nature Challenge - a month-long intervention in which adults are encouraged to spend 30 minutes outside per day during the month of May. Participants in this challenge reported reduced stress, improved mood, and increased connectedness with nature (Capaldi et al., 2015), benefits which may be transferred to college campuses. Scavenger hunt or nature ‘bingo’ challenges with small incentives, such as college merchandise, snacks, or gift cards, may serve as relaxed, social activities that encourage student participation. Group volunteer activities, such as campus litter pick-ups, tree planting, or community gardening may also facilitate profound moments of play and social bonding while practicing appreciation and reciprocal care for on-campus green spaces.
• Guided by existing Nature Rx and ecotherapy-based courses, develop curricula which incorporate nature exposure and nature play activities both during class time and outside of it, encouraging students to reflect on their experiences with unstructured, social play and identifying as nature. Incorporate outdoor activity and nature exposure into exercise and wellness programs where possible to integrate each campus’ unique green spaces into holistic student life and well-being. For relevant empirical studies, see Bramwell et al., 2023; Chang et al., 2018; Ibes et al., 2018; Nation et al., 2024.
• Explore the integration of nature play into existing Campus Nature Rx initiatives by providing recommendations for play within park prescription models, such as that of the College of William and Mary and University of California - Davis, which supply students with referrals to local green spaces (William and Mary Parks and Ecotherapy Research Lab, 2026; Healthy UC Davis, 2024). Add loose play objects (e.g., balls and frisbees, lawn games, stepping stones, miniature obstacles) to green spaces. On maps of campus green spaces developed by CNRx initiatives, label places as ideal for play, thus recognizing the possibility of play for emerging adults and alleviating societal expectations that typically associate unstructured play activity with childhood (Detering, 2018).

Nature and student well-being

Even brief periods of exposure to green spaces alleviate stress and promote wellbeing in college students (Ibes et al., 2018; Ibes and Forestell, 2022). Students report actively seeking green spaces to reduce stress, and additionally wish to spend more time outdoors and in study spaces with natural elements (Holt et al., 2019; Rakow and Ibes, 2022).

Given the documented benefits of and student interest in green space exposure, it’s necessary for colleges to protect, design, and promote campus features that facilitate connection to elements of the natural world. The restorative character of these “biophilic attributes” (e.g. a bench beside a lake, a view of branches through a classroom window, a walkway through a native plant garden) enhances student connectedness to self, others, and non-human nature, and can improve quality of life (Alves et al., 2022; Mousighichi et al., 2024).

Conscious feelings of connection with nature enhance green-space-derived benefits to student well-being (van den Bogerd et al., 2018; Madera et al., 2025). Nature relatedness, a measure of the strength of one’s personal connection to the natural world that considers the extent of one’s ecological selfhood (Nisbet et al., 2009), significantly moderates affective, behavioral, and electrophysiological markers of nature exposure (Bell et al., 2026; Gál and Dömötör, 2023). The top-down attribution of meaning, value, and selfhood to nature therefore shapes the bottom-up sensory responses of students in green spaces. Since embodied experiences in nature increase connectedness to and therefore identification as part of the natural world (Kals et al., 1999; Sierra-Barón et al., 2023), campus experiences that build long-term relationships between students and the natural world are necessary to leverage the most psychophysiological benefits.

While there has been limited study of the effect of reidentification with nature on psychophysiological markers of well-being, we suggest that the aforementioned benefits of connectedness to nature will be magnified by the development of ecological selfhood. It is crucial to note Furness’ (2021) identification of connectedness to nature as a sense of belonging within ecological systems. Belonging plays an essential role in fostering well-being in college students (Romeo et al., 2024; Kelly and Mulrooney, 2019; Dutcher et al., 2022). A sense of belonging to the natural world is inherent to ecological self-realization (Diehm, 2007) and may yield these well-being benefits. We therefore postulate that initiatives which facilitate strong, lifelong connections with nature are particularly impactful and feasible for college students.

But what kinds of experiences are needed to transcend mere contact with a green space and build these deep, active, identity-shaping relationships with nature? Interestingly, Barragan-Jason et al. (2022, p. 5) found that environmental education alone does not significantly increase nature connectedness, but “interventions involving contact with nature and mindfulness practices” do. Further, deep ecology theorists posit that identification with nature necessitates an experiential component which natural sciences often exclude (Mathews, 1988). Learning about ecological systems through Western, Eurocentric pedagogical frameworks, which often impart the illusion of isolated, ‘solo’ selfhood as opposed to cultivating relational intraconnectedness with the natural world (Siegel, 2022), and passive exposure to green spaces is therefore not enough - emotional, embodied, in-nature experiences are necessary for students to truly see themselves as nature.

One accessible, meaningful, and oft-overlooked way to identify with nature is through play.

The value of nature play

Van Vleet and Feeney (2015, p. 632) define play as “an activity that is carried out for the purpose of amusement and fun, that is approached with an enthusiastic and in-the-moment attitude, and that is highly-interactive.” Nature play refers to the embodied experience of unstructured play in natural settings, in which nature itself can act as a play partner (Ernst, 2012; Goodenough et al., 2021). In Box 1, we describe one of our personal nature play experiences.

Outdoor play improves children’s physical health, attention, self-control, and cognitive development (Bento and Dias, 2017; Kemple et al., 2016). It encourages symbolic play, which promotes the development of abstract thinking (Kemple et al., 2016; Shin, 1994). Green spaces enhance benefits derived from children’s outdoor play, facilitating more creative and cooperative play (Taylor et al., 1998; Moore and Wong, 1997; Zamani, 2016).

In college-aged adults, playfulness is linked to lower levels of perceived stress and heightened resilience (Magnuson and Barnett, 2013; Ho, 2022). Play is a human birthright, and it is essential that adults are encouraged to take part in it (Leather et al., 2021). However, studies of adult play, particularly in natural settings, are limited and fail to examine the essential psychological and physical benefits of play that have been studied in children.

Unstructured play can be perceived as embarrassing and contrary to adults’ traditional social role, reducing its commonality (Detering, 2018; Van Vleet and Feeney, 2015). The infrequency of adult play is also perpetuated on a structural level, as the needs and interests of adults are largely overlooked by play designers who cater outdoor recreation spaces to children (Mahdjoubi and Spencer, 2015; Rhea et al., 2023). Despite the superior health benefits derived from unstructured play, structured activities like sports leagues are often the most accessible, least stigmatized play options for adults (Rhea et al., 2023; Walsh, 2019). Even so, a survey by Rhea et al. (2023) found that adults prefer unstructured, outdoor play activities.

Concerningly, outdoor, unstructured play is also becoming less common for children with the rise of structured schedules (e.g. sports, childcare) and electronic time (Clements, 2004; Skår and Krogh, 2009; White, 2006). As children experience less direct and increasingly mediated contact with nature, they miss out on the mental and physical benefits of play and may develop an ‘othered’ view of the natural world (Sebba, 1991; White, 2006). Today’s college students often have stunted experiences of childhood play, meaning it is essential for them to learn to reap the benefits of play - in conjunction with the benefits of time in green spaces - as they transition into adulthood (Haidt, 2024; Rhea et al., 2023; Puhakka, 2024). College campuses can therefore act as essential sites for facilitating a return to play (Leather et al., 2021) and, with it, a return to nature.

Play in nature supports the development of the eco-psychological self (Kemple et al., 2016; White, 2006), which, similarly to Naess’ (1987) ecological selfhood, is defined as “the extent to which individuals identify with nature” (St. John and MacDonald, 2007, p. 48). Through tactile play experiences in natural settings, children can identify with local places and avoid dissociation from nature (Høyem and Fasting, 2025). Green et al. (2016) find that outdoor play develops a sense of environmental competency in children, contributing to environmental identity development. Outdoor recreation may also increase pro-environmental behaviors and attitudes in adults (Larson et al., 2011; Madera et al., 2025), particularly when it involves reflection on relationships between humans and non-human nature (Høyem, 2020). Identifying with natural spaces through play may therefore encourage care and a sense of responsibility for these spaces.

Other forms of engaging with nature, such as mindful meditation and gardening (Egrerer et al., 2022; Unsworth et al., 2016), also facilitate deep, mutually reciprocal connections between nature and one’s self. However, active outdoor play provides distinct health benefits (de Lannoy et al., 2025) and unstructured play in particular facilitates experimentation and creativity (Howe, 2026; Rhea et al., 2023) - traits necessary for college students to shift internalized “us-it” paradigms of nature-self relations. Further, the uninhibitedness associated with play encourages adults to re-frame their place within the world and explore alternative perspectives (Shen and Crawley, 2025). Skår et al. (2016) connect Merleau-Ponty’s The Phenomenology of Perception (2002), which argues that humans make meaning through concrete sensory experiences with their surroundings, to nature play. They posit that nature play, as an embodied experience, is a powerful means to integrate oneself in nature and integrate nature into one’s self (Skår et al., 2016). Thus, outdoor play fosters oneness with nature in a manner that transcends passive contact with nature and may serve as a tool to dismantle anthropocentric narratives.

Discussion

By reviewing the established benefits of association with nature for students and the understudied yet promising potential of nature play to benefit emerging adults, this Perspective encourages the development of strategies that facilitate college students’ sense of belonging in non-human nature.

One way to promote student identification with nature is through course curricula. As part of the CRNx initiative, first-year Nature Rx seminars at the University of California - Davis, “Ecotherapy and the Good Life” at William and Mary, and “Nature Heals” at the University of Minnesota have offered opportunities for students to engage with campus green spaces. Students in Nature Rx seminars report increased appreciation of time spent in nature as a form of stress management (Kiers et al., 2023). Courses not centered around ecological themes may also incorporate nature experiences, such as forest bathing or outdoor excursions, into class time as a form of stress relief (Rakow and Ibes, 2022).

However, a notable challenge to class-based approaches and CNRx programs in general is the need for coordinated student services staff, faculty members, and student volunteers to establish these curricula and manage on-campus green spaces (Rakow and Eells, 2019). Other challenges in the equitable implementation of nature play programming include a lack of reliable access to green spaces, especially on dense, urban college campuses (Cobreros et al., 2023; Davison and Barron, 2026). While our personal experience with nature play programming takes place at a residential U.S. public research university with numerous green spaces, adaptations of this framework may be necessary at commuter, international, and green-space-deficient campuses, where more inclusive definitions of outdoor play spaces should be considered. While some risk of injury is inherent to all outdoor play, Lee et al. (2025) argue that this constitutes healthy risk-taking with developmental value. Considerations of staffing, safety, and accessibility must therefore accompany nature play initiatives on all campus types.

While building personal relationships with green spaces on college campuses is a start, college curricula must shed anthropocentric “us-it” frameworks to shift how students conceptualize the relationship between human and other-than-human worlds. Gienger et al. (2024) argue that Western education’s dominant ontological frameworks must be unlearnt, and that students should be exposed to alternative ways of thinking about humans’ place in ecological systems, particularly those based in Indigenous cosmologies. Barragan-Jason et al. (2022) and Beery (2014) highlight the need to bring emotional elements and relational discourse into environmental education to engage more deeply with nature. An educational ecology approach, which emphasizes “wholeness, interconnectedness, dynamism, and openness,” has also been recommended for the development of nature play curricula for kindergarteners (Xu et al., 2025, p. 15) and may be applied to nature play-based curricula for college students. Together, these approaches to learning about humans’ place within the natural world facilitate affective, holistic, and ecocentric understandings of ecological systems.

Incorporating play itself into post-secondary education may lead to more interactive, embodied, and identity-shaping educational experiences for students. Play offers a much-needed departure from what Iain McGilchrist (2019), opines as Western society’s tendency towards fragmented, reductionist thinking and towards holistic, imaginative thinking. Bringing play into the classroom bolsters student academic performance, quality of life, and creativity (Leather et al., 2021). The integration of collaborative play into entry-level coding classes, for example, increases student participation, attendance, and learning efficacy (Thomas, 2018). Post-secondary curricula would particularly benefit from integrating Indigenous perspectives of play, which deem it “a practice of caretaking, healing, and social connection for sustainability” (Lee et al., 2025, p. 15).

Play- and nature-based pedagogy both provide marked social benefits for students. Nature Rx courses support social bonding through shared outdoor experiences (Kiers et al., 2023). Emerging adults designate natural settings as particularly important for developing strong social relationships (Puhakka, 2021; Sofija et al., 2022). Further, playful approaches are tied to building community in educational settings (Leather et al., 2021; Reimers et al., 2026). Given their ability to strengthen students’ identity as part of both campus social communities and broader ecological networks, play- and nature-based initiatives are crucial on campuses riddled with loneliness (Flesaker et al., 2025; Ousman and Nazir, 2023) and facing systemic dissociation from earth systems (Gienger et al., 2024; Shomuyiwa and Lucero-Prisno III, 2025).

We encourage nature play as a way for individuals and groups of emerging adults to identify as part of ecological systems and offer three recommendations (Box 2) for introducing nature play to college students. Via programs and courses that give students permission to express themselves in natural spaces, colleges can simultaneously connect students to local green spaces and to each other. While the practice of nature play only begins to address the structural and conceptual changes necessary to remedy the othering of nature in anthropocentric societies, it offers meaningful experiences for individuals seeking to reintegrate themselves in nature. With a mindset of spontaneity, enjoyment, and gratitude, nature becomes an expansive playground that students may interact with, care for, and identify as. We therefore view nature play as a catalyst for returning emerging adults to a sense of belonging within ecological systems.

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Footnotes

Edited by: Thomas H. Beery, Kristianstad University, Sweden

Reviewed by: Lucas Murrins Marques, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo School of Medical Sciences, Brazil

Glen Cousquer, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom