Kate commissions new research into nature benefits for babies and children

The Princess of Wales has said time outdoors has never been more important in this “digital age” as she commissioned research into how nature can support the social and emotional development of youngsters.Kate hopes the study by her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood will enable society to “build supportive environments” that make the natural world more “accessible” to babies and young children.The princess has long championed the benefits of experiencing nature, especially during her cancer journey, and wrote in a recent essay: “By spending time in nature or being creative, we can nurture the very skills and emotions that cannot be digitised: awareness, empathy, humility, and above all, love.”The Princess of Wales has made promoting the early years development of children a core part of her public work (Brian Lawless/PA)PA WireThe centre is working with William’s Duchy of Cornwall estate on the project, and on Thursday the prince and princess made a private visit to the duchy’s Nansledan site, a sustainable urban extension of Newquay.William is taking a keen interest in the project and the couple visited the area to learn more about the potential of nature-based learning during the earliest years of life.In a video message recorded in Cornwall to mark the announcement, Kate said: “New scientific research increasingly shows just how important nature is for our psychological and physiological wellbeing.“Nature is such an extraordinary environment for us all and, in this tech-driven, digital age, spending quality time outdoors has never been more important.“This project is about exploring how nature, creativity and relationships can best support the healthy development of babies and young children.Kate is championing nature as a place to nurture social and emotional skills in youngsters (Aaron Chown/PAPA Wire“We believe that taking a whole-child approach is important, and nature becomes a wonderful place to explore how we can successfully nurture the social and emotional skills that underpin lifelong health and wellbeing.“My hope is that through this practical, nature-based research, we can build supportive environments that help make nature more accessible, benefiting babies, young children and their families across the UK.”For more than a decade early years has been central to the future Queen’s public activities and in June 2021 she created her formal body the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to work in this sector.Read MoreTwo years later Kate launched her long-term campaign Shaping Us, described as the princess’s “life’s work”, and aimed at highlighting the crucial first five years of a child’s life.She has travelled overseas to learn about innovative approaches to early years, visiting a forest kindergarten in Denmark in 2022, where she saw how outdoor learning environments can support young children’s development.The Princess of Wales during her visit to a school in Reggio Emilia (Jordan Pettitt/PA)PA WireAnd in May Kate flew to Reggio Emilia, an Italian city that has pioneered a world-renowned teaching method that stresses the importance of the parents, educators and environment – “the third teacher” – that surround a child.The announcement comes as new polling, commissioned by Kate’s centre, shows that 84% of 1,009 parents questioned last month, agree that spending time in nature helps their child’s wellbeing and development.Only 33% of those surveyed reported their child spends time in nature every day, 62% wanted their children to spend more time in nature, with 56% wanting more nature-based experiences through childcare and education.Christian Guy, executive director of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, said: “We have been working with the princess on how nature could play a powerful role in social and emotional development in the earliest years and how the centre can best help to drive the change needed to ensure all babies and young children in the UK can benefit.“The visits to Denmark and Reggio Emilia have further informed that thinking.“There is a real opportunity here to shape the future of early years development, and this project will bring together evidence, expertise and practical experience from around the UK and the world, to better understand how nature-rich environments can help nurture confident, curious, creative and emotionally healthy children.”