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Cohort 1: Brittany

Brittany, PreK

Year 1, Cohort 1, Non-Rural Alaska
Child-Nature Points of Interest (2018-2019)


Demographic Information

  • Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
  • DOB: November, 2013
  • Gender: Female 
  • Birthplace: Fairbanks, AK
  • Family Members: Mother, Father, Brother (age 9), Brother (age 6)
  • Years Parent Lived in Alaska: 17 as a child; 14 as an adult 
  • Parent’s feeling about place lived: (1-10 rating; 10=extremely happy, 1=extremely unhappy)
  • House Location(s) in Fairbanks: Outside Fairbanks City Limits
  • Family Outdoor Activities:
    (Ranked frequently and almost always)
    • Go to sports field (soccer, baseball, etc)
    • Swim in natural setting
    • Cabin away from home
    • Fish, trap, catch, or hunt
  • Child’s Outdoor Activities:
    Ranked frequently and almost always)
    • Bike, scooter, or skate
    • Play ball
    • Pick flowers
    • Look for bugs 
    • Play with dog
    • Swim or water play
    • Build snowman, snow forts, snowballs
    • Free play outside (winter)
    • Sled
  • Favorite Family Activity (Written response): N/A
  • Child’s Favorite Summer Activity (Written response): “Playing in the water at the cabin."
  • Child’s Favorite Winter Activity (Written response): “Sledding"
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was afraid/scared (Written response): “She was scared of falling off the playground equipment at the park."
  • Description of outdoor experience when child was excited/happy (Written response): “When she didn't fall off the playground equipment at the park"

Child's Drawings

Child's drawing: Dog "piper", cow, house, mom

Title: Walking with her dog

Child quotes:

“That’s a cow.”

“Animals”

“My house.”

“I know how to draw trees.”

“A cave.”

“Bears live in the cave.”

“I saw a bear at the cabin.”

“Feels good all the time [when walking the dog].”

Family Feedback: Brittany's mother writes that Brittany walks the dog “when the dog needs to go to the bathroom.” She does this on her own or with her brothers, “2x a day or so,” in their “front yard.”

Child's drawing: stick figures family on snow

Spring 2019

Title: Sledding with family

Child quotes:

“Do the sled”

“I don’t know where I go sledding.”

“I need to draw snow.”

“I have skis at home.”

“Sometimes I do it [sledding] on my own.”

“I like my sled.”

“I need to draw my family.”

“We have more than one sled.”

Clouds, Sun, grass, People, my friends, water (child's drawing)
Spring 2019
The grass child's drawing
Fall 2018
Child's drawing: A monster I am scared of potato head
Fall 2018
Child's drawing: Clouds, Candles with fire, snakes, rain
Spring 2019

Fall 2018
Class Nature Tour Video Highlights

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Followed and mimicked Ashley- chased cranes and made “caw” sounds; Interest in dogs, identified “dog poop”

Fall 2018
Family Nature Tour Highlights

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Rode bike on patio; Swung on outdoor play equipment; Sought help from family (older brother and mother) in navigating nature (i.e., hill at house, falling down)

Spring 2019
Class Nature Tour Video Highlights

Emotional and Behavioral Points of Interest:

Make-believe play (poison!) in the thicket; asks for to help to find a stick for a sword; kills a spider; stomps on bird feed

Child's Reflections on Educational Activities

Child Quotes:

“They [sandhill cranes] have beaks.”

Child Quotes:

“Fun I did fight.” (Comment on stick play)

“Good.” (Comment about running through the snow)

“Scary because it was dark a little bit.” (Comment about being in the thicket)

“Feeding the birds.” (Answer to “What did you learn?)

“Safe in the woods. Not safe on the lake.”


This project is funded by the National Science Foundation. Award # 1753399, CAREER: A longitudinal study of the emotional and behavioral processes of Environmental Identity Development among rural and non-rural Alaskan children