Abstract
More and more research is showing how spending time in nature is good for our health and development. Yet, children living in urban areas (towns and cities) may find it difficult to spend time in nature. Their neighborhoods may have little nearby nature to interact with, or they may not be allowed travel on their own to reach natural spaces. Missing out on spending time in nature means children are becoming more disconnected from the natural world. We wanted to understand if children living in urban areas have access to nature in their neighborhoods. Then, if they do have access to nature, do they prefer to spend time in nature, or in other kinds of spaces? What reasons either prevent or encourage use of natural spaces? Our work revealed some new findings on how children interact with nature and how we can improve our urban areas to support nature connection.