Children in Nature: lived experiences, knowledge and belonging

Abstract

This study is about the lived experiences of children in nature and the repercussions in their biopsychosocial development. From a Spinozean perspective, it is understood that everything is constructed from nature, whereby humans are beings of nature and, simultaneously, of culture. The study demonstrates their biophilic condition and discusses the drawings and speech of children from Tupinambá de Olivença and Mura ethnicities and of non-indigenous children from New York, with the aim of our approximating to their ecological knowledge and their feelings in relation to the natural universe of which they are part. This approach is reflected upon within indigenous and urban school education, considering elements of K-12 education guidelines and studies on human rights and the environment.