XINHUA – Chinese researchers have recently revealed that a school garden with abundant natural components can be used to cultivate the interest of primary school children in nature while helping to alleviate their study-related stress.
In a study published in the journal People and Nature, a research team from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences analysed the impact of natural observation and inquiry-based learning activities in a school garden on the development of children’s interest in nature.
The researchers conducted a series of teaching interventions over a semester in a campus garden of a primary school in Xishuangbanna in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
After four months into the program, the results showed that more than two-thirds of the 24 students were classified as either “interest initiated” or “interest enhanced”, indicating a generally favourable outcome, according to the study.
