An investigation into primary school children's perceptions of the natural environment through sustainable play-based activities

This study aims to investigate primary school children's views of the natural environment through a comparative analysis of their drawings created before and after participating in sustainable play-based activities. This study was carried out in the 2023–2024 academic year with 40 fourth-grade students—20 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group—at a primary school under the authority of the Ankara Provincial Directorate of National Education. A phenomenological design, as a qualitative research method, was adopted, and the data collection tools consisted of children's drawings on the theme of the natural environment in combination with individual interviews. The study involved the formation of experimental and control groups, with sustainable play-based activities administered exclusively to the experimental group over an eight-week period. The findings indicate that, after participating in these activities, children's drawings reflected the natural environment with greater detail and awareness, highlighting environmental pollution. In particular, the children who incorporated natural elements such as trees, animals, lakes, the sun, and forests demonstrated significant differences in their use of color and the organization of composition. All of the children stated that they enjoyed being in nature, and 95% reported having received environmental education at school. Furthermore, it was found that 42.5% of the children kept pets at home, and the vast majority expressed an interest in elements of nature. The results indicated that sustainable play-based environmental education was effective in enhancing children's environmental awareness, empathy, and sense of responsibility. As the concept of sustainable play has been scarcely explored in the Turkish literature, the study is deemed to contribute to the academic field, highlighting the necessity of introducing environmental education at early ages and reinforcing it with structured activities.