Shortly before school started I sat on the outcropping of quartzite at Annapolis Rock along the Appalachian Trail and dove into the Wilderness Essays of John Muir. As reading and hiking are two of my favorite pastimes, the bliss I found perched on the peak was understandable. It might, however, have more universal benefits and appeal as well.

We are all aware of the benefits of reading, and of the benefits of spending time outdoors, but I’ve often mused to myself on what there may be to the particular benefits of reading outdoors. 

Provided that time outdoors is shown to improve memory and attention outside, it seems that compounding the benefits of nature and reading would lead to improved understanding and retention of what we are reading. LIkewise, other research shows how just 20-30 minutes spent outdoors leads to reduced stress. Our school has been surveying and assessing the mental health of our students over the last several years, and the kids are stressed. If your students are like ours, something like relocating to a natural environment that isn’t yet another activity to add to their long lists, might just help bring down those stress levels enough to boost the impact of the reading/school work they are doing. 

When it comes to the connections between the content of our reading and nature, there are so many possibilities for added depth, new connections, or a more creative approach. Some English teachers bring students outside to connect with their readings. Richard Novack describes the joy of reading in nature– ​”after the winter’s first snow, we might scurry outside to read Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” witnessing, touching, and inhaling the crisp excitement of new snow” (Novack, 62). 

Think of the possibilities of bringing students to a park or arboretum to read Romantic literature. Would students have more meaningful discussions and understandings of the sublime, for example, if they could read about nature in nature? What about spending time outside while reading texts for biology or environmental science?

The Wilderness Essays open with an introduction by Gibbs Smith, who did bring his “Nature Writers in 19th Century America” class to Yosemite to see nature like Muir and others had. While such a trip may not be possible for most, there are smaller ways we can tap into the distinct benefits of reading and nature as well as the unique alchemy that may come from doing both together.