Studies have shown that walking among trees makes us relaxed. 【小题1】There’s plenty of research showing the link between being in nature and being happy, but most of the research has focused on adults.

【小题2】 Explaining the motivation behind the study, researchers note that with environmental issues such as global warming, more studies are focusing on the relationships between humans and nature to find solutions to these problems, and the future of the planet lies in the hands of children and their actions. However, few studies focus on this aspect.

For the study, researchers worked with 296 children between the ages of 9 and 12. To measure how connected they were to nature, the kids were asked how much they enjoy activities like seeing wildflowers and wild animals, hearing sounds of nature and touching animals and plants. 【小题3】They also found that the more concerned children were about the environment and nature, the more likely they were to be happy.

So exposure to nature is related to active behaviors and happiness of children. What does that mean to adults? As we all know, children usually tend to follow adults’, especially their parents’ behaviors. That’s to say, when adults are outside and appreciate nature, kids learn by example. 【小题4】

Researchers say that children need role models who can gently guide them to nature with excitement and an attitude of a lifelong learner. 【小题5】 What’s more important is that they spend time together with children by exploring a fun and safe environment.