If We Want Young People to Care About the Climate, Start by Getting Them Outside

Aaron Morehouse, Ph.D., Executive Director of Hale Education

By Aaron Morehouse, Ph.D.

Ask young people how they feel about climate change, and you’ll hear fear, frustration, even despair.

That concern is backed by data. A global study published in The Lancet found that 85 percent of young people worry about climate change. More than half, 58 percent, report feeling very or extremely worried. Here in Massachusetts, where sea levels are rising and extreme weather is becoming more common, those numbers are likely even higher.

What’s often missing from this conversation is an equally urgent question. How do we move young people from anxiety to action?

The answer, supported by research and decades of experience at Hale Education, is surprisingly straightforward. We get them outside.

Time in nature has a measurable impact on how young people think and feel about the environment. A North Carolina State University study of middle school students found that outdoor time increases their connection to nature, a key predictor of environmental concern and action. Another review of place-based education programs, published in Education Sciences, showed that hands-on, locally relevant outdoor learning improves not just knowledge but students’ sense of responsibility and willingness to act.

We can’t expect young people to fight for a world they’ve only seen through a screen or a textbook. They need to experience it firsthand.

This is the foundation of place-based education, a model that takes learning beyond classrooms and into the real world. It also reflects what we’ve seen globally: the most effective climate education strengthens young people’s relationships with the places they live, the communities they’re part of, and the stories they share.

At Hale Education, these principles guide our work.

Consider the Connecticut River Field School, a partnership that gives students the chance to paddle one of New England’s great waterways while studying its ecology. They measure water quality, observe wildlife, and witness the impact of human activity on a vital resource. It’s not theory. It’s tangible, messy, and real.

Or take Intrepid Academy at Hale, an academic program for Boston Public Schools students that blends classroom learning with outdoor exploration. Over a semester, students study academic subjects while immersed in the natural world. They collect data, analyze the environment, and see firsthand the role they play in preserving it. Along the way, they build knowledge, confidence, and a sense of agency: qualities essential for the climate challenges ahead.

Examples like these, here and around the world, show that effective climate education isn’t about facts and figures. It’s about grounding learning in real places and lived experience. It’s about helping young people see how climate change affects their communities, and how their actions matter.

That belief — that we are not powerless — is what young people desperately need.

Too often, public discourse around climate change is paralyzed by political division. While policy debates drag on, young people are left overwhelmed and unsure where to begin.

This is where the outdoors quietly cuts through the noise.

Time in nature reduces stress, improves mental health, and builds resilience. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that even brief interactions with green space can lower anxiety and improve mood. For young people grappling with climate anxiety, that isn’t a small benefit. It is essential.

Nature also brings clarity. It transforms abstract problems into local, solvable ones. Students who plant trees, restore habitats, or test water quality learn that their actions matter. That realization changes everything.

Of course, nature isn’t a cure-all. Climate change is a global crisis that demands large-scale solutions. But if we want an informed, resilient next generation ready to face that challenge, we need to meet them where they are: outside.

Massachusetts is fortunate to have forests, rivers, coastlines, and green spaces that serve as living classrooms. But ensuring all young people, regardless of background, can connect with nature requires commitment and investment.

It means supporting outdoor education as a core part of youth development and climate literacy. It means recognizing that fostering the next generation of climate leaders doesn’t start with a lecture. It starts with a hike, a canoe trip, a semester immersed in the natural world, and the stories that connect young people to place and possibility.

The science is clear. The benefits are real. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

If we want young people to care about the planet, we need to give them the chance to fall in love with it first.

Aaron Morehouse, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Hale Education, a nonprofit based in Westwood that connects thousands of young people to nature and outdoor learning each year.