'OOSH in the bush' : evaluating the impact of wild play upon children

![CDATA[Over the last 30 years there has been increasing evidence that play in ‘natural environments’ has a multitude of benefits. These include the development of social skills, language and comprehension, physical activity, improved physical and mental health and environmental learning. Although these benefits are well known, Australia has one of the lowest rates of children playing outdoors. Nature Play WA claim that Australian children actually spend less time outdoors than its prison population. With a crowded school curriculum and societal barriers (parental fear, lack of provision, time poor) the ability for Australian children to be able to get out and play is diminishing. Another approach was needed. ‘OOSH in the Bush’ is an Australian pilot program delivered at Centennial Parklands and the Australian Botanic gardens in Sydney, from their ‘Bush classrooms’. Aiming to get children in who attend an afterschool or school holiday play service or as it is called in Australia; Out of Hours School Care (OOSH), children from ten OOSH provisions attended ten hours of nature play programming delivered by the park’s Education Ranger team. This paper will showcase the evaluation findings of a 2014 study conducted with a grant form the Ian Potter Foundation.]]