by Nature VR
We are proud to share that a scientific paper we contributed to has recently been published a major milestone for anyone working at the intersection of youth work, nature education, and well-being research.
The paper, Nature Intelligence in Schoolchildren (Van den Berg & Albers, 2025), presents a validated theoretical framework and practical assessment tools for measuring how children aged 5 to 12 relate to the natural world. It was developed as part of the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Nurturing Nature Intelligence in Schoolchildren, co-funded by the European Union.
What Is Nature Intelligence and Why Does It Matter?
Most of us sense that time in nature is good for children. But until now, the field has lacked a clear, testable model of what competencies actually allow a child to connect meaningfully with nature.
The paper introduces the Dreaming and Doing model a two-dimensional framework describing six specific competencies through which children build a relationship with the natural world:
Dreaming (emotional and reflective connection):
- Feel – enjoying nature and experiencing its calming effects
- Connect – feeling part of nature, identifying with it
- Amaze – experiencing wonder, awe, and a sense of mystery
Doing (active, hands-on engagement):
- Can – practical outdoor skills like growing food, building, navigating
- Dare – overcoming fears, engaging with unfamiliar or uncomfortable nature
- Accept – tolerating mud, rain, insects, and the unpredictable
Based on these dimensions, children fall into one of four profiles: Beginners, Engagers, Empathisers, and Embracers each reflecting a different combination of emotional and action-based nature competencies.
The model was validated with 771 Dutch schoolchildren (self-test, ages 9-12) and 80 younger children across Italy, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands (adult-assessed version, ages 5-8). Both tests showed strong reliability and validity.
One finding stands out: the strongest predictor of Nature Intelligence is not school, but home, specifically whether parents actively take children outdoors. Nature education can help, particularly for Beginners, but parental engagement is key.
Why This Matters for Youth Work
The NQ framework does something rarely achieved in environmental education: it gives youth workers, educators, and parents a shared language for talking about nature connection. Not as an abstract ideal, but as something concrete, observable, and developmentally appropriate.
Children are not blank slates. A child who scores high on Dreaming but low on Doing needs different support than one who is fearless outdoors but emotionally disconnected. The profiles make this visible and actionable.
The research also confirms what many youth workers already know: nature connectedness decreases with age unless it is actively sustained. The window of early childhood is precious, and the tools to support it must be both engaging and accessible.
Enter NatureVR: The Next Step
This is exactly where our NatureVR project comes in.
NatureVR is an Erasmus+ partnership bringing together youth organisations from the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, and Italy to develop Virtual Reality tools that enhance Nature Intelligence in young people. Building directly on the NQ framework established in the published paper, NatureVR aims to equip youth workers with innovative, inclusive tools to support nature connection, especially for young people who face barriers to accessing the outdoors.
The project is grounded in the same understanding: that well-being, environmental stewardship, and nature connectedness are deeply linked, and that youth workers need concrete, evidence-based instruments to foster these competencies.
Through NatureVR, we will:
- Assess the needs of young people and youth workers across four countries
- Study the benefits and risks of VR as a tool for nature-based learning
- Co-develop VR tools aligned with the Dreaming and Doing model
- Train youth workers through Train-the-Trainer sessions and e-learning modules
- Advocate for the broader adoption of these approaches at regional and national policy levels
VR cannot replace a walk in the forest. But for young people in urban environments, with mobility limitations, or who carry anxiety about the natural world, it can be a powerful first step lowering the threshold to connect, sparking curiosity, and building the competencies that make real-world encounters more meaningful.
A Continuum of Connection
The published paper and the NatureVR project together represent a continuum: from measuring how children connect to nature, to building new pathways for those who struggle to do so.
For youth workers, this means having both the diagnostic vocabulary (the NQ profiles) and practical tools (VR experiences and training materials) to meet every young person where they are whether they are a Dreamer yet to set foot in a forest, or a Doer who has never been asked to stop and wonder.
We’ll be sharing more about NatureVR’s development in the coming months. Stay tuned and in the meantime, feel free to explore the full publication at:
https://natureintelligence.eu/about/publications-schoolchildren/
NatureVR is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of the European Commission.
