Digital Nature: (Re)-connecting children with the natural world through Minecraft

This project was funded by a College of Arts Humanities and Social Science Competitive Research Stramash. The focus was on children's connectedness with nature and how this can be enhanced through digital games. The aim was to avoid viewing connections with the natural environment as being compromised by digital technology but instead to use Minecraft to explore children's connectedness with nature through the digital worlds they create. We also examined the relationship between sense of connectedness with nature and mental health.

Children live in an increasingly digital world but this may not limit their sense of being part of their natural environment. We engaged with children as they played with Minecraft to create their own digital worlds.