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Nature and the Child's Soma

Jan 2020 - Jul 2020

Spatial Design | User Experience Design

To design an intervention that enhances and provides diverse and creative opportunities for children and adults living in urban India to build holistic relationships with Nature, in order to bridge the existing human-Nature disconnect. 

Objective

Skills & Tools Used

Spatial Design, UX Design, Design Research, Data Analysis, Affinity Mapping, Empathy Map, Illustration, User-Testing // Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, AutoCAD

Background

The space of Human-Nature connections and relationships was nested within the larger context of Somaesthetics - the process of understanding one's soma (mind and body in unison) by paying attention to the soma's needs and wants and changes in the soma with time, through activities that draw attention to the body and mind - ex: dancing, yoga, meditation, sports, fashion etc. 

Taking a Nature-based approach to two principles of Somaesthetics informed the context of Human-Nature relationships:

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1. “One cannot feel their soma in isolation; one feels it only in contact with an interactive
environment.” What is an interactive environment known to the human soma?

Nature (plants, animals, landscapes, and other features, products and phenomenon of the Earth) is
arguably the most omnipresent, and perhaps the most familiar environment known to humankind.
It is the cause of a large number of changes in our soma - our bodies are, in fact, also part of Nature.


2. “A deeper understanding of the self could lead to a deeper understanding of the outside
world, and vice versa.” Do we understand the outside world, of which Nature is a part?

Global warming, climate change, extinction of species etc. is perhaps proof that we have lost touch
with Nature. A deeper understanding of the self can not only help one understand the artificial,
man-made world, but also the natural world, which may help preserve Nature, and ourselves.

Hypothesis: Can love for, and an emotional attachment to Nature during one’s childhood result in pro-Nature attitudes and beliefs during adulthood? The aim of this project’s final design intervention is to create a love for Nature during childhood itself, so that this love may manifest in crucial pro-environmental and pro-Nature actions, behaviours and responsibilities during adulthood, which would then contribute to preservation and conservation of Nature.

Research

Methods

  • Secondary research: dissertations, surveys, books, blogs, TEDx videos etc.

  • Survey (for children aged 5-12 and their parents in urban India; distributed through WhatsApp and Instagram; 22 responses)

  • Case Study (The Atelier Pre-School,
    Bangalore)

  • Observation (5 days spent observing and interacting with children and their parents in the parks in Yelahanka and Purva Venezia)

  • Creative Interviews (7 children (aged 7-12), 3 young adults (aged 21-23), 4 parents (aged 35-50))

  • Self-Initiated Somaesthetic Practice (4
    months of walking, mindfully and slowly, in Nature and journalling about the experience everyday)

Goals

  • To understand what is meant by a holistic Child-Nature relationship, what triggers and disrupts this relationship.

  • To understand the kind of relationship
    adults and children had/have with Nature.

  • To observe children’s behaviour in Nature and understand their views regarding Nature. 

  • To understand how young adults and
    adults today developed their pro-Nature beliefs and attitudes, and if these have been inspired by, or are connected to, their experiences with Nature during their childhood.

Somaesthetic Research

  • The ‘Observation’ method let children play in parks in Nature. Play is a somaesthetic activity, and this method allowed me to get genuine, uninhibited responses from children while they were in a free state of mind and play.

  • The ‘Creative Interviews’ involve drawing in Nature. Drawing helped participants visualize Nature while they spoke about it, put them at ease and didn’t make it seem like a formal interview.

  • My own somaesthetic practice helped
    me connect the dots between my own
    feelings when in Nature and my pro-
    Nature attitudes and beliefs. It also made me aware of the somatic benefits Nature offers and how to design ways in which to achieve specific benefits. Overall, spending so much time in Nature strengthened my
    belief and stance in my own project.

Important Insights

Reduced and not-easy access to safe green spaces due to urbanization in urban areas has impacted the Child-Nature relationship. The Nature that exists in the urban parks plays a very passive role, as children are often prohibited from climbing trees, picking flowers and generally touching and engaging in free play with Nature. This means that children often end up playing IN Nature (surrounded by it), instead of WITH Nature (smelling, touching, tasting, interacting with it), which does more towards establishing a Child-Nature connect than simply playing IN Nature. 

Is there a 

Disconnect?

There might be a connection to some extent, where children still spend time IN Nature, but spending time WITH Nature is slowly becoming more difficult to establish, and could fade away because of the way the world is progressing - increasing industrialization, capitalism, globalization etc. which currently comes with a subsequent loss of ecosystem and  biodiversity - deforestation, pollution of oceans etc. This disconnect, if more severe, will then result in many other problems in the future, as we may become increasingly apathetic to Nature.

My own somaesthetic practice has helped me realise that my personal pro-Nature beliefs and attitudes have come from a love for Nature, strongly mapping back to my childhood.

​

Many people who participated in the research and showed strong pro-Nature actions and beliefs had equally strong experiences with Nature during childhood and insisted the two were directly related to one another.

​

Bodies of research (ex: Christopher D. Ives) have stated that emotional and philosophical connections to any issue have the most power to bring about structural & systemtic change.* Hence, there is basis for proof of hypothesis.

*Ives, C.D., Abson, D.J., von Wehrden, H. et al. Reconnecting with nature for sustainability. Sustain Sci 13, 1389–1397 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9

Gaps I am Focusing On

Lack of sufficiently stimulating green spaces in urban India. 

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Technology creating a barrier between child and Nature interactions, as no amount of current technology can replace real, authentic Nature (hence, technology was not considered at all in the ideation and final solution). 

An emotional connection with Nature increases one’s sense of personal responsibility
towards Nature, and has the potential to strongly predict pro-environmental attitudes and
behaviours in the future; this strong Human-Nature connection can be nurtured by direct
Nature interaction during childhood.


The challenge is to create an intervention for children aged 5-12, living in urban cities of India, which provides opportunities and space for a stimulating, sensorial and fun experience with Nature. A child-nature connection, while not impossible, is slowly becoming difficult to establish in urban cities and is in danger of fading away. The intervention not only aims to grant children autonomy of free play and a nature-filled space in which to do so, but also aims to stimulate a love for and connection with Nature during their childhood. Another goal of this intervention, as aforementioned, is to try to raise, through this childhood bond with Nature, children who may grow up to be environmentally responsible individuals who are proactive in their preservation of Nature.

Ideation

I went through three rounds of ideation based on the following parameters:

Why gated communities as the site of intervention?

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  • For many children living in gated communities in urban India, the playground in that community is their most frequent and safe access to Nature.

  • The Nature present in these playgrounds in gated communities is reduced to the aesthtic and functional value of landscaping, and while it may provide some emotional relief, children often do not interact with Nature, especially the animals. 

  • The playgrounds themselves are built of artificial materials, and are quite standard and boring. Children deserve better playgrounds.

  • Gated communities highly prioritize their Nature landscaping and facilities for play and recreation, and this intersection is ideal for building Nature Playgrounds. 

Final Output

The ‘Nature Playgrounds Design Guidelines’ guidebook intervenes at the design stage in a gated  community project (in urban India), and seeks to assist architects, landscaping designers, consultants, and housing community developers in designing Nature Playgrounds in gated communities. The design principles outlined in this guidebook will help designers design holistic Nature Playgrounds that not only meet the various needs of children and enhance the user experience of playgrounds, but also help bring children (and adults) closer to Nature, in an attempt to strengthen the human and child-nature connection and care for our planet.

What is a Nature Playground and how is this one different?

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  • Nature Playgrounds are playgrounds that make use of natural landscapes, elements, and materials to allow children to explore, sense and experience the natural environment in a more holistic manner, thereby fostering a deeper connection between them and Nature.

  • Unlike most other Nature Playgrounds, this guidebook advocates for a separate space where children might interact with animals and birds in as non-intrusive of a way as possible. 

  • The design principles have been developed from a somaesthetic point of view - from a deeper understanding of the body and mind, and its subconscious needs when at play. 

Why "play" as a medium of connecting to Nature?​

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  • Children love unstructured play - it comes naturally and creatively to them.

  • Play - for children and adults - allows for a lot of exploration and curiosity, as there is no defined way of playing. Playing in Nature enhances this exploration and curiosity as there is much to discover. 

  • Play, childhood and fond memories are often interconnected, and the body and mind remember these. The hope is that children will associate good memories with playing in Nature when they grow up, especially at a time where Nature is rapidly diminishing in urban areas. 

The Design

Principles

A glimpse of how some of the design principles were derived:

Execution of the

Design Principles

A fictional Nature Playground was designed to show how the design principles would be executed.

The Guidebook

User Testing

The principles and layout of the guidebook were validated by experts (2) and students (3) in the fields of architecture and landscape designers. Their feedback was incorporated before the final output (shown above) was finalised upon. 

My Design Process

design process 2.png

Reflection

Working on this project in the midst of a global pandemic was not easy. Places that I was intending to visit were shut, and I couldn't interact with as many people as I wanted to either. Finding digital ways of conducting user research without compromising on interactivity (like the co-creation session) was a challenge, but satisfying in the end. Due to COVID-19, our deadline was extended by 3 months, and while frustrating, it also gave me more time to refine my project and reach out to experts who could validate and guide me wherever necessary. 

The irony of my project is not lost on me. At a time when the whole world is staying inside (figuratively), a thesis that advocates for going out and spending time playing in Nature does sound odd. However, this pandemic has only proven more strongly how extremely important it is for humans to reconnect with Nature, and I am hopeful that my project can be executed in its full capacity once it is safe for everyone to be out again. 

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