ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we highlight our concluding reflections regarding the potential of arts-in-nature towards children and young people’s mental health, the mitigation of health inequalities, and the promotion of sustainability. Drawing on examples from our chapters, we summarise the integration of the arts in a range of natural environments, including forests, beaches, parks, school playgrounds, and community areas. Whilst each project described set out with different aims – whether that be to develop or restore children’s connections to nature, to provide arts therapies, or to facilitate broader learning – each reports the benefits of contact with the natural environment through and with the arts. To truly support children and young people’s capacity to flourish with and alongside nature, authors have emphasised the importance of connecting and learning ‘with’ nature – instead of learning ‘about’ or ‘in’ nature. They have also focused on addressing practical, ethical, and safeguarding challenges, particularly in therapeutic contexts, and stress the need for inclusive access to these experiences. Inclusive initiatives such as the Forest of Imagination exemplify how arts-in-nature can promote community engagement, environmental stewardship, and active citizenship, moving beyond individual interventions to broader preventative approaches. We argue that these approaches can not only promote children and young people’s health and wellbeing but also empower them to have a positive impact on their local environment and, thereby, broader planetary health.
