SDU joins new national partnership on children and nature

How can nature play a greater role in the everyday lives of children and young people, both at school and in their free time? This is one of the questions that a new national partnership centred around the Centre for Children and Nature will explore over the next five years.

SDU is participating through Active Living and the Centre for Primary and Lower Secondary Education Research and is represented on both the Centre’s steering committee and expert group. The University will also be an active partner in one of three flagship projects designed to translate knowledge into concrete initiatives for children and young people.

Shared priorities for SDU and the Centre for Children and Nature

The Centre for Children and Nature brings together 16 partners with different perspectives on areas including nature, health, children, learning and leisure activities. For SDU, several of the Centre’s focus areas are closely aligned with research already being conducted at the University.

These include the health, well-being and active lives of children and young people, as well as learning and teaching about climate, the environment and sustainability in primary and lower secondary school.

– I am extremely pleased about the establishment of the new Centre for Children and Nature. The partnership brings together strong expertise from research, foundations, associations, education and practice, and at SDU we very much look forward to contributing to this joint effort, says Thomas Skovgaard, Professor and Head of Research at Active Living, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, and Co-Director of the Centre for Primary and Lower Secondary Education Research.

The partnership is based on an ambition to give more children the opportunity to play, learn and be active in nature. The Centre for Children and Nature’s national survey of children from 2024 showed that half of parents would like their children to spend more time outdoors in nature. The children themselves expressed a similar wish.

– Schools have an important role to play here, and there is certainly scope for them to do more. At the Centre for Primary and Lower Secondary Education Research, we work with areas including sustainability education, nature connectedness and outdoor education, and we look forward to actively bringing this knowledge into the partnership, says Nikolaj Elf, Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Primary and Lower Secondary Education Research.

Three projects will put knowledge into practice

A key part of the initial work will consist of three multi-year flagship projects with a combined budget of DKK 10 million. The projects focus on outdoor play, teaching outside the classroom, and involving children and young people in decisions about the landscapes and natural environments of the future.

SDU will be an active partner in one of the three projects in particular. The project aims to create better and more equal opportunities for children to engage in active outdoor play and to strengthen adults’ ability to support them.

Bringing research and practice together

A central element of the partnership is collaboration between researchers and the organisations and professionals who work with children in their everyday lives.

Universities and university colleges will contribute research and research-based recommendations, while organisations and practitioners will bring experience from schools, early childhood education and care settings, associations and leisure activities into the work.

This broad collaboration will make it possible both to develop new knowledge and to explore how it can be put into practice in the settings where children and young people spend their time.

DKK 30 million for the Centre over five years

The strengthened Centre for Children and Nature was launched in July 2026 and currently has a budget of DKK 30 million over five years.

The Nordea Foundation and the Villum Foundation are each supporting the Centre with DKK 12.5 million. The remaining funding consists of co-financing from the partners and revenue from commercial services.

The Centre for Children and Nature has 16 partners and is open to additional partners. They include research and educational institutions, foundations, organisations and associations with expertise in areas including nature, health, children, learning and leisure activities.