Attending 12 weekly sessions of Forest School sessions improves mood and cooperation in 7-8 year old children

Being in nature improves wellbeing and health, but opportunities for children to spend time outside in a natural environment can be limited. Forest School programmes offer this opportunity. This study aimed to examine whether participation in a 12 week Forest School programme would improve mood, self-esteem, spatial cognition and collaborative behaviour. 179 UK schoolchildren aged 7 to 8 years took part, with a final sample comprising 151 children. A Forest School and classroom group were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. Children who attended the Forest School rated themselves as less tired, less bored, calmer and happier than children in the classroom. There were also greater improvements in cooperation in Forest School attendees. There were no differences in self-esteem, but some initial evidence of better competence-related self-esteem. Performance on the spatial cognition task was unchanged. Our findings suggests that Forest School participation is beneficial for children's mood and cooperation.