There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge)

by Linda Åkeson McGurk

I’d noticed in the US that some adults had taken the Leave No Trace principles to an extreme and sometimes lectured children for infractions as small as collecting rocks or picking common flowers, telling them that “the flowers are food for the bees” and asking the classic question, “What would happen if everybody picked a rock?” Some researchers believe this strict interpretation of Leave No Trace can limit children’s opportunities to make meaningful connections with the natural world and may even exacerbate the perceived separation of humans and nature.

Several pilot projects are already up and running in Scandinavia to see if urine can be used as an agricultural fertilizer on a larger scale.

Mycobacterium vaccae, seems to have the ability to trigger our serotonin production, effectively making us happier and more relaxed. M. vaccae occurs naturally in soil and water, and is inhaled or ingested when we come in contact with dirt. Our exposure to mycobacteria has decreased considerably due to sanitation and water treatment in Western urban areas, but by regularly playing outside or helping out with a backyard garden, children can still get in contact with it. A recent study on mice also revealed that M. vaccae can improve cognitive functions, like learning.

In communities with a high level of social trust, children are generally given greater independence and mobility. “Having social trust means that if problems arise, we trust that we solve them together, as a community. In places where the attitude is that everyone minds their own business, children have less mobility,” says Mårtensson, the environmental psychologist.

Rainbow is modeled on the concept of public adventure playgrounds—or “junk playgrounds,” as they were initially called—which originated in Denmark. The first adventure playground was built in Emdrup in 1943, in the midst of the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. The prominent landscape architect Carl Theodor Sørensen is usually credited with having come up with the idea after noticing that children liked playing with leftover building materials at construction sites.

Many scientists believe that these feelings are caused by what they call “soft fascination” with natural elements, which—unlike the directed attention needed to navigate through busy traffic or solve a complicated math problem—can help keep our minds at rest.