Why Outdoor Programs Help Youth Thrive

Findings from The Nature of the Outdoors: Stronger Youth Development Through Exploration.

As young people across the country continue to face anxiety, depression, and trauma, a new report argues that access to nature may be one of our most powerful—and scalable—strategies to help youth thrive. The Nature of the Outdoors: Stronger Youth Development Through Exploration shows how nature-based programs—often overlooked or thought of as nice-to-have—can play a transformative role in building participants’ positive identity, relationship skills, emotional regulation, and sense of purpose.

Join GTY, YMCA of the USA and Hello Insight to discuss this Annie E. Casey Foundation-funded study of 10,000+ youth in outdoor programs ranging from wilderness adventures to day camps. Study data, drawn from organizations nationwide using Hello Insight’s shared impact measurement tools, reveals that nature-based programs consistently outperform other settings in cultivating key life skills for thriving—especially for young people navigating complex life challenges.

What You’ll Learn

• New findings on how outdoor programs drive measurable social-emotional growth
• Why nature-based settings uniquely support healing, connection, and purpose
• How funders can help scale these approaches in communities that need them most