Building a house here isn’t like building a house in Minecraft”: exploring children’s experiences of forest bathing activities

Abstract

Individuals are becoming increasingly isolated due to advancing technology and changing habits. Spending extended periods indoors and limited contact with natural environments have been associated with challenges in children's physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Accordingly, various nature-based practices have been introduced to encourage human-nature interactions. Forest bathing, or "Shinrin-yoku," represents one such practice and serves as the focus of this study. This study aims to explore children's experiences, perceptions, and meanings associated with their participation in forest bathing activities conducted once a week over a five-week period. Conducted as a qualitative study, data were collected using the semi-structured interview technique. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 16 of the 30 participating children and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. In this study, five main themes and related sub-themes emerged from the analysis of interviews conducted to understand the experiences of children participating in forest bathing activities. The themes resulting from the thematic analysis focused on children's emotional responses, questioning of digital environments, social interactions, the bonds established with nature, and learning processes. The analysis results suggest that experiences in nature are not confined to physical activity and play; they also appear to be associated with children's emotional, cognitive, and social experiences.