Salzburg Global Fellow Kathryn Scott believes it’s time to reconnect classrooms with the natural world - and use behavior change theory to make it happen
This article was written by Salzburg Global Fellow Kathryn Scott, who attended the Salzburg Global "Nature-Based Education:Time for Action" session in September 2025.
“Irrelevant. Often ridiculous.” As climate-related disasters dominate headlines, this was the verdict from an education expert and Salzburg Global Fellow on how our school systems are responding.
Children in San Francisco sit in hot classrooms, learning Pythagoras’ theory while the sky glows red from forest fires. Children in Kenya study European trees in British textbooks while a local forest waits to be explored at the edge of their schoolyard. Schools in London have no playgrounds, so children stay inside at breaktime.
Is it any surprise that the connection our children feel with nature is weaker than ever? And as adults, while it makes sense that we are a species like any other, we act like we are separate from nature - above it, rather than part of it.
This is a problem because we treat nature as something we use: a resource for food, fuel, building materials, or somewhere to visit on holiday. We don’t see our interconnectedness. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services says this human-nature disconnect is one of the root causes of the climate crisis.
When we picture an idyllic childhood, or think back to our own, we’re usually outside: For me, it was wandering in woodland, poking about in rockpools, and rolling down daisy-strewn hills. Evidence agrees that learning in nature is effective and boosts well-being. Nature-Based Education (NBE) gives us healthier, happier, smarter kids who are more likely to care for the planet.
We are in an age of multiple interconnected crises - a learning crisis, a youth mental health crisis, climate, biodiversity, and obesity, to repeat the list. We are in crisis mode and struggling for solutions. Nature-Based Education is part of the solution to all these social challenges and offers simple, achievable, affordable steps to address them. So if restoring our connection to nature is that important, where is the urgency? Why isn’t it happening already?
Like diet and exercise, most of us know getting outside into nature is good for us. But knowledge alone isn’t enough. This is where behavior change theory can help.
For behavior to change, three things must be present: Capability, Motivation, and Opportunity.
- Capability: Are they able to do it? Do they have the skills and knowledge?
- Motivation: Do they want to do it? Do their mindsets and attitudes support it?
- Opportunity: Can they do it? Do they have the right environment, resources, and support?
Behavior change science grew up in public health, had a fling with economics, and rebranded as behavioral insights, but the principles remain the same. It’s time to apply this powerful framework to education, especially to NBE.
An example from health can explain the theory. Take swimming… If I’m physically fit and have previously learnt to swim, then I can tick off capability. If I like swimming and have no unhelpful mental models about cold water or how I look in a swimsuit, then it’s a tick for motivation. Then, is there somewhere I can swim nearby? Is it open? Can I afford it? If all these criteria are there, then opportunity gets a tick.
We often focus too much on capability and motivation, overlooking opportunity. No amount of ability or desire for a dip gets you swimming without an accessible body of water. And opportunity is often a matter of policy. But policymakers are humans too, and their behavior can also be shifted.
So how do we get more NBE into schools, communities, families, and workplaces? Here are some target behaviors we could think about:
- Teachers take a class outside once a week.
- Parents use PTA meetings to demand outdoor learning.
- Local policymakers introduce guidelines for schools.
- Ministers draft an action plan making NBE a legal requirement.
This article focuses on the last two policymaking examples.
Capability
Policymaking is a specialized skill that takes decades to hone, even more so in a specific area like Nature-Based Education. Understanding education policy and the additional layer of connecting to nature is a big ask. Also consider that policy briefs change so often - the UK had five different education ministers in 2022 alone, and ten since 2015. So meeting policymakers where they are is a good first step.
Like any emerging sector, Nature-Based Education has its own jargon, complete with acronyms and a set of different but overlapping terms that create a Venn diagram of meaning. The nuance can be lost by those without the time or motivation to decipher them. Clarity about what we mean by NBE is key. A Salzburg Global session on "Nature-Based Education: Time for Action" sparked action to map the different concepts and approaches to help navigate the field.
Other projects that build capability include toolkits, lesson plans, and curriculum guides that help explain what good looks like. The IUCN, with support from Salzburg Global Fellows, are building a Nature-Based Education Geoportal that will host all this material, and in the meantime, you can utilize resources from the IUCN’s Commission on Education.
Motivation
If we’re confident the policymaker has all the knowledge, skills, models, and resources, the next question is: Do they want to do it? Back to our swimming example: Do they like the idea of swimming in principle, but when faced with the cold, wet reality, do they actually want to?
The evidence on just how magical NBE is for children’s learning and well-being is important here. The statistics and facts will help with rational, evidence-based reflective motivation and those all-important economic arguments in policymaking. However, it's also important to understand to what extent we are dealing with mental models, potentially deep-rooted or even subconscious ones, that simply don’t prioritize nature-based learning. The same mental models that leave us disconnected with nature in the first place. They say “that’s not what school is for” or “I never went to camp and I turned out ok” or “nature is cold, wet, dirty and dangerous.” It will differ from person to person, from urban to rural, from country to country, and from childhood memory to childhood memory. Our job is not just to present science but to understand these attitudes.
And the good news here is that we are selling a wonderful product. Nature can provide hands-on, joyful, life-changing experiences and “a-ha” moments in a way that policy briefings about triple-lock pension finance could only dream of. How do we convince a policymaker to get more kids connecting with nature - what about connecting them with nature? Get them outside, bring the outdoors in. Be creative, be bold, host a massive nature-themed “Nat Gala” in New York with a ton of celebrities.
Opportunity
The opportunity dimension includes factors in the physical and social environment that can often feel out of an individual policymaker's control, and have very real resource constraints. We’re talking about building a new swimming pool, rather than jumping into one.
But a capable and motivated policymaker may have more avenues open to them than they realize. The task is to spark their imagination and remind them of their agency as changemakers. Activities like asset mapping or design thinking sprints can spark new thinking. What if we opened that school playground on the weekend? What if we could take the kids to those woods at the edge of that private golf course? Could we de-pave that car park? What would that look like? How might we…?
As we grow the partnerships and networks to connect the Nature-Based Education community, we are shifting the social environments. Connecting people creates a growing sense not just that it can be done but that it is being done. This vital work of weaving together people and ideas is shifting norms. We’re helping move potential changemakers’ mindsets from “this is a bit out there” to “this is what everyone is doing.” And from there it’s only a small step to “hey boss, I think we should…”. A lot of what we do as strategists, campaigners, and advocates is about trying to make the social opportunities clearer, more obvious, and more powerful.
The greening school grounds campaign, which Salzburg Global has worked on with Children and Nature Network and many other partners since 2022, is shifting both the social and physical environment work. By sharing inspirational stories of community-led change, building shared resources, and fostering a sense of momentum, the campaign is giving changemakers the firepower and support they need to take that first step.
To those who have seen the magic of children or adults learning in and reconnecting with nature, this work seems like common sense. In fact, it’s common sense backed by a whole load of science. But, as with any policy issue, there are complex reasons it’s not already happening at scale. Understanding how to build the skills, knowledge, mental models, and opportunities we need can help accelerate change so that a niche idea becomes the norm. When that happens, we’re not just changing education, we’re changing the future of our planet.
Kathryn Scott is a Senior Advocacy Specialist at the LEGO Foundation, where she works across different projects and initiatives seeking to promote the Foundation's global policy and advocacy goals around breadth of skills, inclusion, and early childhood development. She's interested in the processes of social change and the interactions between individual behavior, communities and systems, which she approaches from both a psychological and political perspective. Before joining the Foundation in December 2020, she was Director of Policy at the British Psychological Society, where she led policy, research, communications, thought leadership, and advocacy. She is a former member of the UK Cabinet Office's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Advisory group on Behavioral Science. She has worked with local organizations and communities in countries such as Indonesia, Liberia, China, Vietnam and Ethiopia to advocate to their governments for change for children.
"Nature-Based Education:Time for Action" is part of the Nature-Based Education program in the Salzburg Global Center for Education Transformation.
