Audience

• Students and faculty members of W&M who would like to spend more time learning or teaching outdoors

• Students and faculty members who would like more places to work outdoors, even outside of class

• Students and faculty members with health problems, where being outside is a better environment for them

Gain engagement through surveys for students and faculty, either by direct contact or events such as the Earth Day Showcase

Limitations: Pollen allergies, weather conditions, access to technology

Background, & Justification

Research on outdoor classrooms and campus greenspace for college students consistently demonstrates significant academic, mental health, and social benefits. Integrating natural settings into higher education learning environments has been shown to enhance attention, academic engagement, and cognitive functioning (Kuo et al., 2019). For college students, time spent in campus greenspace is associated with lower stress levels, improved mood, and greater overall well-being-factors that are critical for academic success and retention (Becker et al., 2017; Ibes et al., 2018). These environments also foster a sense of place and belonging, promote restorative experiences, and can strengthen students’ environmental attitudes and behaviors, especially when used regularly as part of the curriculum (Chawla, 2020; Ibes et al., 2018).

Two leading theories explain these benefits: Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Stress Reduction Theory (SRT). ART posits that natural environments restore depleted cognitive resources by eliciting “soft fascination,” which gently engages the mind without demanding focused attention (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). This process allows individuals to recover from mental fatigue and enhances their capacity for directed attention-a critical factor for academic performance and overall well-being. ART identifies four key components of restorative environments: being away (psychological distance from everyday stressors), extent (the environment’s scope and coherence), compatibility (alignment with one’s purposes), and fascination (the environment’s ability to effortlessly capture attention). Empirical studies show that even brief periods spent in natural settings can significantly improve sustained and selective attention, working memory, and impulse control compared to built environments (Berman et al., 2008).

SRT asserts that humans have an innate affinity for nature, rooted in evolutionary biology, which facilitates physiological and psychological stress recovery when exposed to natural settings (Ulrich, 1983). Interacting with nature can evoke positive emotions, lower physiological arousal, and mitigate the effects of chronic stress. Research indicates that individuals with a stronger connection to nature experience greater improvements in mood and psychological well-being after spending time outdoors. Even viewing images of nature can improve mood and life satisfaction.

The practical implications for higher education are substantial. Studies have found that adding plants to college computer labs leads to faster reaction times (12% improvement), reduced stress (lower blood pressure), and better self-reported attentiveness and concentration. Students with more natural views from dorm windows score higher on tests of attentional capacity and report being able to function more effectively. Participation in nature walks also results in better attention scores than urban walks or indoor relaxation. Furthermore, as little as 10–20 minutes of sitting or walking in nature can produce measurable reductions in stress, anger, and anxiety, and increase positive affect and a sense of being refreshed (Ibes et al., 2018). These effects are not only immediate but can also contribute to long-term academic achievement and mental health.

Outdoor classrooms and nature-based learning approaches further amplify these benefits by supporting experiential, inquiry-based education. Such environments encourage hands-on engagement, foster environmental stewardship, and have been linked to improved standardized test scores and reduced dropout rates (Ibes et al., 2018). These findings underscore that campus greenspace and outdoor classrooms are not merely aesthetic enhancements but vital infrastructure for supporting student success, well-being, and sustainability goals in higher education.

In summary, robust theoretical frameworks and a growing body of empirical evidence support the integration of natural environments into college campuses. Both ART and SRT highlight that even brief, regular exposure to nature can yield substantial cognitive, emotional, and academic benefits for college students, making greenspace and outdoor classrooms essential components of a healthy and effective learning environment (Ibes et al., 2018).

Succession & Sustainability

The Goal: Green Fee Proposal

• W&M Green Fee Fund 

• W&M Sustainability Department 

• W&M Landscape Design Guidelines 

The next milestone of this project is acquiring Green Fee funding to create these outdoor spaces at W&M. This will be Stage 2 of 3. Now that data has been gathered of suitable spaces on campus and interest from members of the W&M community, this can be used as justification in the Green Fee proposal. It is important to note that the campus will be undergoing major changes by the Fall of 2025, with the construction of the new ISC and dorm buildings. New spaces around campus should be considered for outdoor classrooms, especially near the ISC. More survey responses for more data will also always be welcome. Additionally, contact with W&M Landscape Architecture will be essential to increase chances of Green Fee approval. 

Eventually, Stage 3 can only occur once Green Fee funding has been approved. This will involve directly working with W&M Landscape Architecture to create the outdoor classrooms. Depending on the amount of infrastructure is wanted/needed in an area, we can work to draft spaces with a variety of designs. 

The main issue regarding sustainability of outdoor classrooms is upkeep. The materials used in these outdoor spaces must be durable against weathering, and if outlets are incorporated into the environment then they must be properly grounded and protected as well. Leave No Trace will be pushed in these outdoor spaces, with a Leave No Trace poster at every location. This will be used to keep these new environments safe for all current and future students. 

Once these classrooms are implemented, a system to keep track of which outdoor spaces are being utilized will be required. The Spring 2025 team has two main ideas for this:

1. An entirely separate section in PATH chosen by the professor if they would like to frequently take their class outside in a dedicated space for that class

2. A system for the professors to reserve a space around campus for the duration of their class

The latter is the more feasible choice. If outdoor classrooms were to become a significant part of W&M's campus life, then collaboration of PATH could prove to be more useful. 

Project Reflections

Strengths:

This project is extremely well-supported. Many professors and students are in favor of this idea, and it was very easy to get good backing for this project. The short surveys allowed us to get a LOT of survey responses, and we hope to add to this total in the future. There are also many great locations around W&M to hold an outdoor classroom, making it a very feasible project with assistance from the Green Fee fund. Our team was well coordinated and were able to bring our specialties into this project. We were able to apply skills we already knew and learn skills for community-based research. The ArcGIS map was a very effective way of showcasing the spaces on campus that we plan to add outdoor spaces to. 

What could be improved:

It is important to note that the survey responses are mainly from convenience sampling, and the project could benefit from a larger and more diverse group of responses, especially from the faculty's side. A 3D model could have been very useful in showing what these outdoor spaces would look like in different locations on campus. A picture would showcase these environments much better to people that may potentially be on the fence on outdoor classrooms. Additionally, if we were to do this project again, we would have focused on short surveys first, instead of spending too much time planning to write a Green Fee proposal. Getting into contact and obtaining more information from the Sustainability Department and the Green Fee proposal at the start would have been beneficial as well. However, after a little bit of redirection, we made great progress towards possibly seeing these outdoor spaces actually implemented at W&M. People were very responsive to the short surveys, and it became a point when marketing our survey that it did not take very long to complete. 

Barriers to Completion:

One of the main barriers to our project is the coordination of efforts of administration, professors, and faculty in order to make these outdoor classrooms a developed part of William & Mary’s environment. As we have seen with the development of previous greenspaces on campus, it is very easy for initiatives to be left behind if they aren’t done with the people that make up William & Mary in mind. It is an essential part of the steps we take moving forward to make sure the spaces we develop are inclusive, easily accessible, and capable of being integrated into the curriculum of W&M without too much additional strain. Without this much needed foresight, the areas and steps we take could too be undone by lack of upkeep and persistent effort. With these thoughts in mind, it is our focus to work directly with Grounds & Gardens and Landscape Architecture at W&M as well as with professors and students to see this project to something that can grow and develop as the campus does. 

References

Becker, C., Lauterbach, G., Spengler, S., Dettweiler, U., & Mess, F. (2017). Effects of regular classes in outdoor education settings: A systematic review on students’ learning, social and health dimensions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(5), 485. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050485

Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1207–1212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature, 2(3), 619–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10128

Ibes, D. C., & Rakow, D. A. (2022). Campus Nature Rx: How investing in nature interventions benefits college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 960370. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.960370

Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. Cambridge University Press.

Kuo, M., Browning, M. H. E. M., Sachdeva, S., Lee, K., & Westphal, L. (2019). Might school performance grow on trees? Examining the link between “greenness” and academic achievement in urban, high-poverty schools. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1669. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01669

Ulrich, R. S. (1983). Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In I. Altman & J. F. Wohlwill (Eds.), Behavior and the natural environment (pp. 85–125). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3539-9_4