As children, many of us grew up on orders to “go play outside,” and spent dusky evenings catching lightning bugs and rolling around in the grass. There were so many worlds to explore and lessons to be learned: how to make whistles from grass, which berries are edible and whether a rock is sedimentary or metamorphic. Now, most children spend their days confined to classrooms, typing away their time on laptops. 

When did that change? 

As students grow older, priorities shift. Less time is spent outside in the fresh air, while more time is spent working or playing indoors on screens.

Several studies, including one from the Journal of Environment and Behavior, have suggested an inverse relationship between screen time and time spent outdoors: as students spend more time indoors on screens, their motivation and time available to go outside decline. 

Technology has allowed for incredible advancements in learning, but nature remains just as valuable. Even as college students, there is still much to learn. 

Outdoor learning spaces are areas dedicated to integrating education and the environment. These spaces take various forms, as seen on Wake Forest’s campus, but they all share the same goal: engaging students in a nontraditional classroom setting to enrich their learning. Outdoor learning provides a welcome break from harshly lit classrooms and stuffy academic buildings. 

Wake Forest is home to several of these spaces, including the Tohi Garden, the outdoor classroom behind the Z. Smith Reynolds library, the campus gardens and the Reynolda Gardens, which features a new greenhouse. These spaces allow students and faculty to go outside and engage with their surroundings, whether for a class or simply a moment of peace.

The Tohi Garden is one of Wake Forest’s quintessential spots, although many students don’t even know it exists. Located behind Angelou Residence Hall on south campus, the garden began as a stormwater management system that has since been transformed into a garden for native plants. In 2010, it was recognized as a sacred space in Cherokee culture and received an official blessing, naming the garden “Tohi,” which means “unstressed” or “peaceful.”

The garden features a short, winding path and stream, shielded from the surrounding neighborhoods by a blanket of trees. Tree stumps are scattered around, providing seating for small classes or anyone who wishes to stop and take a quick rest. 

Not too far away, a semicircle of stones surrounds a small white bench, forming an outdoor classroom behind the library. These stones are repurposed meditation stones that previously lined the Reynolda Village trails. 

The Campus Garden and Reynolda Gardens are farther from the clamor of central campus, but the hike is worth it. While these spaces are not intended to accommodate traditional learning, they facilitate experiential learning. For instance, classes in the environment department sometimes take field trips to visit the campus gardens, allowing students to explore the crops, chickens, beehives and more. 

Campus garden interns Sophie King, Jaylyn Walters-Howard and Sidney White from the Office of Sustainability work directly with classes and individual students who visit the garden for educational and personal enrichment. 

“The garden is a great opportunity to plan something, watch it grow, share it and have tangible results that everyone can benefit from. It brings everyone down to the same level of knowledge, so it’s really nice to work together as a team with a bunch of different people in one space,” White said.

These places are important because outdoor learning spaces provide students with a break from the norm: hours spent indoors, eyes blazing from extended screen use. Beyond that, outdoor learning has been shown to improve learning and provide numerous health benefits. 

Research suggests that outdoor learning promotes an emotional connection to classroom content, making it easier for students to absorb and retain what they are learning. Furthermore, studies like “Emotive outdoor learning experiences in Higher Education: Personal reflections and evidence” find that outdoor education is associated with higher test scores and improved literacy in general. 

In terms of its impact on mental well-being, studies suggest that students experience a consistently positive response to outdoor learning. According to “Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship,” exposure to nature has been linked to lower levels of stress.

White is a psychology major and reflected on the mental health benefits of visiting the garden. “Dirt has bacteria in it that release serotonin in your brain, so getting your hands in the dirt and touching grass can actually make you feel better,” she said.

Walters-Howard agrees. “One of the biggest things I’ve noticed being out here is how you can see it light up people’s day.” 

Sebastián Terneus, a writing professor at Wake Forest with an environmental focus, actively incorporates outdoor learning into his teaching. He believes that experiential learning is key. 

“That’s when new knowledge is created,” Terneus said. “Bringing students out of the classroom is super important because if they don’t have that experience, then they don’t have the empathy to reach out and actually take care of environmental issues.”

He continued: “Rather than talk about an issue inside a classroom where it’s hermetically sealed from that issue and we feel distant, we go outside and study it.” 

Furthermore, outdoor learning is associated with an increase in intrinsic motivation to engage in both class-mandated activities and student-chosen activities. This is important because intrinsic motivation, compared to extrinsic motivation, improves engagement and lasting interest in learning. 

“I want students to be more mindful of what they are doing to this campus,” Terneus said. “What are they doing to the nature around here, the communities around and outside of campus? I want us to be more mindful of our emotions and our sensations, but also about our impact beyond our own needs.”

Outdoor learning spaces provide a myriad of experiential learning opportunities and health benefits, which is why it is so important that college students have access to them. Even if classes don’t capitalize on their presence on campus, students can use these places for personal well-being and stress relief. 

An example of this is Shinrin-yoku: the Japanese practice of “forest bathing.” Simply put, this is an experience in which you immerse yourself in a place of nature, focusing on the balance of your breathing and the sounds, smells and movements around you. 

The outdoor learning spaces on campus are vibrant yet peaceful places where practicing Shinrin-yoku or other relaxation techniques is possible. Although practices such as “forest bathing” are not class-led, visiting these places and working through stress is another equally essential form of learning. 

School can be stressful, and having access to open, green spaces provides students with safe places to reduce anxiety and take a moment away from the pressures of college life.