‘It’s my Absolute Favourite thing to do’: Nature Playgroups Building Families' Connections with Nature and Each Other

Abstract A growing body of research advocates for very young children to engage in playful nature-based learning in outdoor environments. In Australia, there is a rapidly growing number of nature playgroups, where young children engage in self-directed, play-based learning. Play is supported by adults and facilitated by trained professionals that predominantly work for private organisations. Nature playgroups, in general, provide families with the chance to socialise and gain valuable peer support with raising children. They are seen to be a valuable aspect of a child’s upbringing particularly at a time when it has been identified that modern parenting occurs within increasingly complex social and environmental contexts. Nature playgroups occur in contexts such as forests, parklands, and beaches, forming a collective approach to nature-based early childhood education approaches globally. This paper draws upon fieldwork undertaken in 2024 at one nature playgroup, informed by ethnographic methods. Observations were taken of facilitators, parents and children and include the interactions between the researchers and the playgroup participants. Vignettes were used to describe the experience of how parents benefit from time spent as active participants in facilitated nature playgroup sessions. Through analysing research in parents’ roles in children’s nature-based teaching and learning, we propose that facilitated nature playgroups are as valuable for parents as they are for young children to interact with nature as an avenue to build their knowledge of the world around them and grow family support networks.