Understanding learning, performance and health outcomes in nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport
Interest in nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport and the implications for learning, performance and health outcomes has emerged as a global phenomenon over the last few decades. Comparatively, traditional perspectives on motivations, learning, performance and wellbeing have been critiqued for their standardization and normalization. Nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport (e.g. green exercise, adventure recreation, trail running, community gardening, forest therapy, park run, forest school, mountain biking) have been promoted as vital for human health, well-being and considered as important for community and planetary health. The rapid rise in participation rates in nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport has overtaken many traditional sporting activities, and many nature-based sports and physical activities are now fundamental to education and health contexts, including being prescribed through health systems (e.g. green social prescribing). Learning from participant experiences has also contributed to our understanding of the broader human condition. It seems that the momentum for nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport is intensifying. At the same time, emerging research points to a more interlinked understanding of learning, performance and wellbeing. This calls for alternative ways of building knowledge and undertaking research that are capable of revealing the nuanced perspectives of the human dimensions of participation in nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport supporting both qualitative and quantitative paradigms. This special issue brings together cutting-edge research and thought, examining ‘Learning, Performance, and Health in Nature-based Physical Activity, Exercise, Sport and abilitation’. In particular, but not exclusively, we are interested in research and ideas that examine:
- Becoming a participant
- Effective performance
- Learning and behaviour change
- Outcomes from participation
- Psychological aspects of performance
- Skill development and self-awareness through nature-based physical activity
- Maintaining health and wellbeing through nature-based physical activity, exercise or sport
- The relationship between performance and wellbeing in the context of nature-based physical activity
- Methodological issues
- Conceptual frameworks
- Definitions
- Barriers to participation
- Impacts of nature-based physical activity, exercise or sport on society and environment
- The relationship between nature-based physical activity and social wellbeing.
- Societal perceptions of nature-based physical activity, exercise and sport.
- The role of nature-based sports in green social prescribing.
Submission Instructions
Submission timeline:
- due date for submission of full papers for review: 23:59, 28th February 2026
- expected completion of reviews: August