Beginning our special issue on nurture through nature, Colwyn Trevarthen argues that young children must be given the space to play, run and roam outside in order to learn about themselves and their world.

Children in Scotland spoke to Mike Flinn about how the forest school programme is helping boost children's self-esteem and ability to evaluate risk

Italian nursery teacher Paolo Zane describes how a carefully documented nature activity project resulted in happier and more confident children

Norway's nature kindergartens have proved there is nothing that can be taught indoors which cannot be taught in nature, writes Asgeir Berg