Sustainability as a relational value in early childhood - the power of nature play, joy and local place identity

Abstract Through play and movement, children experience and express their ability to embrace the more-than-human world in deeply personal ways. This invites a reconsideration of sustainability as both a relational value and a way of living. In this paper, we draw on analyses of data collected through child-friendly methods in two studies conducted outdoors involving three- to five-year-old children in Norway and New Zealand. The findings highlight how children embody and enact sustainability through their outdoor play, interest, imagination, and enthusiasm for nature and friluftsliv. They reveal how children form connections to places, nature, and one another in a pathic way—using their bodies, senses, and emotions to relate to both humans and the more-than-human. This suggests a more holistic understanding of what sustainability entails and how it can be lived in everyday contexts. We argue that sustainability should be more firmly conceptualized as a relational value, with bodily experiences, knowledge, emotions, and sensory engagement forming the foundation for children’s capacity to be agents of change. By promoting greener, more ecological forms of human culture that are attentive to everyday encounters between people and their environments, we can move toward a more just and sustainable future for all.