Learning to care for the natural world encourages social and emotional development which, in turn, teaches children in the early years how to take care of themselves and their own wellbeing.

Through the Social Emotional Learning project, we aim to use the combined expertise of the project partners to develop a novel methodology for children’s emotional learning, creating a research study and a suite of new resources for schools based upon the findings of the project. This methodology will be crucial in ensuring that children grow up with a thorough understanding of how to care for themselves, those around them, and the environment.

For our part in the Social Emotional Learning project, we worked with six schools across England, Scotland, and Wales to complete research questionnaires and a suite of activities linking social and emotional learning with birds. The data has been submitted to our partners in Slovakia for analysis, we hope to have a report Autumn 2022.

As part of the Social Emotional Learning project, an in-person transnational event took place in Slovakia in July 2022. We joined teams from Malta, Spain, and Slovakia to share best practice, experiences, and ideas on improving social and emotional learning through nature education. The event also provided an opportunity for teachers to present feedback on their experience of the project. A second in-person transnational event is planned for October 2022, along with additional dissemination events due to take place in Scotland and Wales over the coming months.