Paul Hetzler
The Advocate
Children who grow up on farms are privileged, though they may not always see the truth of that until later on. It seems much of the “digital generation” become adults, chronologically, at least, without knowing how to use a hammer, let alone fix a flat or do an oil change.
Farm kids learn many skills that serve them well, both on and off the farm. These can range from tractor safety, welding and engine repair to greenhouse management, direct marketing, and produce traceability. In every case, farm kids learn to work hard and problem-solve in the real world. In the process, they gain self-confidence. This is priceless.
But there are more fundamental, if lesser known, benefits of rural life. Kids who grow up surrounded by nature have a big mental, physical and cognitive lead over urban kids. There is solid proof that daily exposure to things like trees, animals, rocks, birds and open sky makes children feel happier and more confident. They’re more active, less anxious and learn better.
Scientists haven’t yet mapped all the neurological and biochemical pathways behind these effects. But controlled experiments from around the world agree the positive changes that happen when kids live close to nature are real.
According to a 2018 Danish study, youngsters who get outside on a regular basis have a lowered risk of depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders and substance use later in life.
Outdoors helps attention
In 2011, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that being outdoors lessens childhood ADHD symptoms. In fact, a growing number of psychologists now think time spent in nature could restore attention on a long-term basis.
Here’s an eye-opener: When children simply play with dirt, their anxiety and stress levels drop more than play that does not involve getting muddy. And they feel happier. This makes me wonder if breathing dirt while doing field work on an open-cab tractor does the same.
Connecting with nature also improves what’s known as eudaimonic well-being, a deep sense one belongs in the world. In other words, farming helps give life meaning. It’s probably one reason so many farmers can keep going in the face of daily challenges.
In addition, dirt (or soil) is vital for strong childhood immune systems. A study done in Finland looked at 10 urban day-care centres with concrete play yards. At five centres, researchers built “forests” for kids to use, trucking in good topsoil and native trees, shrubs and flowers. After four weeks, blood tests showed that the immune systems of kids who played in the dirt were notably healthier than their initial baseline at the start of the study, and the control group.
Effects on immune systems
The research team concluded a nature-poor childhood, the norm in our culture where 80 per cent are urban-dwellers, results in “uneducated immune systems.” This may render kids prone to immune-mediated ailments like severe allergies and celiac disease.
Immune systems aren’t the only things “educated” by nature. School performance is enhanced as well.
Pupils who spend time outdoors absorb material faster and retain more of what they learn. And the longer kids spend in fields, forests or streams, the bigger their academic gains are.
A 2019 study from the University of Chicago showed connecting with nature “improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control.”
In another experiment, students who looked out at green space for 40 seconds before a test did better than those who didn’t. Several other studies have shown listening to natural sounds raises marks on tough exams.
Nature inspires kindness
It’s been documented that nature makes kids nicer: primary-school students are kinder to peers and adults after forays into nature than after visiting urban landmarks.
Researchers at the University of Rochester report exposure to the natural world makes people tend to nurture relationships, value community more and be more generous.
Fortuitously, kids have an innate attraction to nature. If adults want to encourage kids to explore and examine the real world, stuff like magnifiers, notebooks, trowels and containers can enrich their experience. Let kids bring nature indoors by making space (within reason) at home for moss, rocks, bark and other found items.
Nothing beats direct experience for getting kids’ attention. Young folks will remember yellow birch if they make wintergreen tea from its twigs. Spicebush smells like cloves, while black cherry reeks of bitter almond. Teen girls have particular respect for the white pine when they learn of its historic link with North American women’s rights. Kids and youth can learn to make a superb pink lemonade from the berries of staghorn sumac. And it’s OK to bring in a little tech into the picture now and then; free phone apps to identify plants, insects and birds abound.
The summer I was 13, I began full-time work on a neighbour’s farm, a 2,700-acre mix of dry beans, corn, wheat, contract-grown sweet corn and dairy-replacement heifers. From that point, I was hooked, staying on for 10 more years. I wasn’t aware of the benefits of being out in nature back then, but these likely factored into the picture. The job came at a time it was best I was out of the house, and it’s fair to say the self-confidence and time in nature I got on the farm saved my teenage life. The hard-earned pay was welcome, but not the main benefit.
Even if children move away and don’t take over the family farm, they’ve profited from starting out there. Most of us have kids in our lives – nieces, nephews, grandkids – in urban areas. Let’s take them out to dig holes and get muddy as much as possible. It brings out their best nature.