AFP – Researchers from Britain and the United States (US) found that the mere sight of trees through classroom windows can significantly benefit students by positively influencing their levels of aggression, anxiety and attentiveness. The discovery emerged from an experiment involving 86 children aged seven to nine, spread across 15 classes in three elementary schools situated in East Lansing, Michigan in the US.
These schools are all surrounded by greenery – mainly trees and shrubs.
The research team noted that children whose classrooms overlooked green spaces showed fewer behavioural problems than those who can’t see nature from their desks.
“We found that children spending their days in classrooms with greater average (per window) views of nature were rated by their guardians as demonstrating fewer externalising behaviour problems, at home and school,” the study reads.
However, the researchers found that this beneficial effect was more closely linked to trees than to any other natural element.
Students with a view of the sky from their classrooms were not as calm and attentive as those with a view of trees.
The observation is in line with the findings of a previous Swedish study, published in the journal Health and Place in 2009.
The authors of that research study encourage municipalities to plant as much as possible in and around schools, so that pupils can enjoy the multiple benefits of nature. A number of scientific studies have shown that trees help us establish balance in our lives, significantly lowering our levels of stress, exhaustion and anxiety.
One of them, published in 1984 in the National Library of Medicine, even showed that convalescents in a hospital with a room overlooking a park recovered faster than others.
However, the results of the study should be treated with caution, as it has a number of limitations.
The researchers didn’t take into account the size of classroom windows, for instance, nor the fact that schoolchildren don’t spend their entire school day indoors. They also spend time in the cafeteria, library, gymnasium and other areas, which ideally should also be surrounded by vegetation for a boost in their well-being.
