Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/children-trees-and-eco-centric-thinking/5024970/
Trees, for children, can be magical. Five-year-old Ryland, when challenged to think of something that might be perfect, suggested that trees are “almost perfect.” He knew that trees give us oxygen, shade and fruit, and that they give birds a place to build their nests. He called trees “great” because “they are good for climbing and give us a place to hide.” Ryland’s love for trees is not unusual, as most children like to be around trees and seem to have a special affinity for trees. Children often mention trees as something they really like to have in the places where they play (Jansson et al., 2016; Laaksoharju et al., 2017). Some children even say they love trees (Argent et al. 2017). Trees appear frequently in children’s drawings and many children identify trees as one of their favorite features in a natural environment (Laaksoharju et al., 2012, 2017).
Trees—like other elements of the natural world—can be more than an “it” to be viewed, used or admired. We see this as children look to trees as friends and who sometimes engage in conversations with trees. One study reports an incident where young children discover “baby trees” during their walk in ...