The Norwegian concept of ‘free air living’, or friluftsliv, has been helping people in the country keep physically and mentally healthy for centuries, and has become a requirement for early years practice. In the midst of a pandemic, might it work in the UK too?
The term was coined by writer Henrik Ibsen in 1859 and has been part of a national tradition of spending time outdoors in nature and the wilderness ever since.
Henrik Neegaard, assistant professor in the faculty of education and international studies at Oslo Metropolitan University, explains, ‘If you ask 1,000 Norwegians what friluftsliv is, you will get 1,000 different answers. It could be anything, from simply going for a walk to climbing a mountain.
‘Above all, though, it is about the intrinsic value of experiencing nature. It’s not the North American idea of conquering the wilderness, or the colonial concept of battling natural forces or domesticating the wild. It’s about enjoying and getting connected to nature.’
Friluftsliv can be achieved through a wide range of outdoor activities, from picking berries to climbing mountains, and is linked to the idea of an escape from everyday life. It should not require a long journey or a lot of equipment.
Helpfully, the right to roam in Norway allows citizens to walk on any uncultivated land, regardless of ownership. They can also set up camp for up to two nights as long as they are 150m from dwellings.
EARLY YEARS
In Norway’s early years settings, children spend a lot of time outdoors, ranging from around 70 per cent of the time during the summer to 30 per cent in winter. In ‘nature’ settings, which place more focus on outdoor activities, this rises to 87 per cent and 79 per cent respectively.
Settings are legally obliged to provide five times more outdoor space than indoor space per child, so outdoor play is a priority, but to practise friluftsliv, staff must find wilderness such as forest or mountain areas.
Mr Neegaard explains, ‘Choosing a good place for friluftsliv is essential. It should be as natural and wild as possible, with a lot of different qualities children can experience and explore over time.’
Friluftsliv is specifically referenced in the national early years framework, which says children must receive ‘good experiences of friluftsliv all year round’. The framework does not provide any further guidance, but a typical friluftsliv day in a setting might include a walk in the forest, a campfire, exploring animal life and plants, and enjoying physical play such as climbing or sledding.
Mr Neegaard says, ‘Friluftsliv should involve a lot of free play. That can be exciting or risky, like climbing trees, or calm, like picking berries or making a small cabin for role play. But children should have time to get to know the environment and master the skills needed.
‘That could simply be eating lunch, working out how to dress for the weather, or recognising the opportunities the environment affords you. Is that tree climbable? Are my fingers too cold to throw snowballs? Do I even notice the temperature when I am having so much fun?’
He adds that simply moving more formal educational activities outside would not count as friluftsliv. ‘Nature should not just be a tool or a backdrop to physical education. Nature is not a classroom. In one trip outside we could use an outdoor classroom and do friluftsliv, but they are different,’ he says.
BENEFITS
Rune Storli, associate professor in the department of physical education and health at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondheim, believes we can all take something from the principles of friluftsliv during the Covid pandemic.
‘Friluftsliv is a good way to find something positive in the pandemic,’ he says. ‘It makes it easy to keep distance and find a good place to meet, and it means you don’t have to sit indoors all the time. Plus it is good for mental health.’
Meanwhile, for children in particular, Professor Storli says the benefits of an early introduction to friluftsliv are numerous.
‘Nature can help develop many skills. A two-year-old who is already used to rough terrain will develop totally different walking skills to a child who grows up on asphalt.
‘Friluftsliv is also a good way for children to learn to evaluate risk when they are still very small. If they learn to adapt to the requirements nature puts on us, like dressing so they won’t freeze, moving about when cold or removing clothes when hot, they will become more independent.’
Mr Neegaard agrees. ‘Friluftsliv is about getting to know yourself and who you are, but also being part of a society and a democracy. Even when it is cold or there are challenges, it is good for you to try to overcome them and trust your own choices.’
Another long-term benefit is an ongoing respect for nature, Professor Storli says. ‘Many kindergartens work on sustainability awareness and promote the idea that if you love nature, you will protect it. We try to teach children to experience nature as a friend.’
Even children’s play can be affected positively by being outside. Mr Neegaard explains, ‘We have found that children play better across genders and ages when they are outdoors. This may be because of the freedom they have. They can play with sticks, stones and pinecones, and what they are is not predetermined. Nature adds creativity and possibilities.’
FRILUFTSlIV IN THE UK
While wilderness is on the doorstep for many in Norway, opportunities to access real, wild nature in the UK can be scarce. But Torbjørn Lundhaug, associate professor in the faculty of education, arts and sports at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences in Bergen, says the basics of friluftsliv might still be achievable here.
‘The first step to friluftsliv in an urban context can be very simple. You can just find a tree in a park and leave your phone at home. Sit for half an hour and take time to notice all the lights, sounds and smells, the changing of the seasons, and everything nature has to offer. Friluftsliv is a mindset, and could still be practised in the middle of a city. It is mostly about giving yourself a break.’
Mr Neegaard agrees. ‘Somewhere that is as messy and wild with as little human impact as possible is ideal, but a park is better than nothing. There are a lot of beaches in the UK, which could be a good place to start. It doesn’t have to be tough or hard. You can climb a hill, walk in the fields or build a sandcastle. The most important thing is just being out in nature.’
CASE STUDY: Rudshøgda Kanvas Nature Kindergarten
‘We have always been an outdoor kindergarten, but before the pandemic we spent a few hours of one or two days a week inside. But now we are outside all day, from 7.30am until 5pm, and will be until summer 2021 at least,’ says Stian Eide, teacher at Rudshøgda Kanvas Nature Kindergarten in Oslo.
‘We feel friluftsliv helps keep the virus away from our kindergarten. It’s not so easy to get infected when outside, not just by coronavirus but also flu, colds and other infections. It’s also a good way of keeping the kindergarten open. We have only had one case in our kindergarten, and the track and trace team gave us good feedback on how we were minimising the risk by being outside.
‘For us, friluftsliv is about showing children, parents and families the possibilities of what we can do outside. Of course, you have to consider the weather, but we have tarps that we put up between trees to make a roof, and we have a tepee for very bad weather. Even when it is minus 10 degrees and snowing, it can still be fun to be out.
‘We do a lot of painting using natural materials which we can hang in the forest and take back to the kindergarten. We also act out fairytales rather than just using books. Afterwards, we see the children trying to make up their own fairytales.
‘We see fewer conflicts outside. Children don’t have toys to argue over, as there are thousands of sticks and stones to choose from, and there is a lot of space so they can pull away and find someone else to play with if they want.
‘Some parents are a bit concerned about the colder months, but as long as the children are dressed for the weather, there is no problem. We have regular routines for checking whether the children are wet or cold, and they have changes of clothes to keep them warm.
‘We teach children to care for nature. I heard from a parent that their child said they could only use destroyed trees for firewood, not a healthy tree. It’s really nice to hear these things stick with them, and they know that if they don’t take care of nature, they won’t have a forest any more.
‘I hope when the children are older they will be interested in becoming outdoorsy people. If just two out of ten children want that when they are grown up, my job is done, and I’m happy.’
