Study on Increasing Biodiversity in Kindergarten Yards and Its Effects on Childrens Health and Development

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating how increasing biodiversity in kindergarten yards, called rewilding, affects childrens health and well-being. The study focuses on children aged 1 to 5 years and examines the impact on skin, saliva, and gut microbiomes, as well as the prevalence of allergies, asthma, atopic dermatitis, infections, cortisol levels, cognitive skills, and plasma cytokine levels. This study is led by the Natural Resources Institute Finland and aims to understand if rewilding can improve health outcomes in urban children. The study compares two groups of kindergartens one with yards modified to include more natural biological elements such as vegetation and plantations to increase biodiversity, along with playground equipment to promote physical activity and a control group with low biodiversity yards but also equipped with playground equipment. The intervention period includes regular monitoring at baseline, 3 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years to assess changes over time. Participants will be assessed through questionnaires and detailed microbiological and blood sample analyses. Researchers will measure skin Gammaproteobacteria as the primary outcome and monitor secondary outcomes such as cortisol levels, diversity and taxonomy of microbiota from skin, saliva, and stool, white blood cell distribution and transcriptomics, plasma and skin cytokines, infectious diseases, asthma symptoms, atopic dermatitis, allergy symptoms, eczema measures, and cognitive skills using standardized intelligence scales. The study includes long-term follow-up to evaluate the effects of the rewilding intervention on various health parameters.

Nationwide Research on the Rewilding of Kindergarten Yards