# Natural Connection A hopeful newsletter about fixing our relationship with nature Page: Feed: --- ## [I looked at over 400 children’s drawings so you don’t have to](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/i-looked-at-over-400-childrens-drawings) _2026-08-04 · Kate Howlett_ Between adorable hedgehogs and questionable handwriting, I found clues about how children understand the natural world ## [More trees, more exercise](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/more-trees-more-exercise) _2026-07-07 · Kate Howlett_ What a short study says about childhood habits, urban design and green space ## [Maternity leave as an act of ecological surrender](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/maternity-leave-as-an-act-of-ecological) _2026-07-03 · Kate Howlett_ Why preparing for maternity leave has reminded me that we are bound by the same needs, limits and seasons as every other living thing ## [We're living through a transformation of experience](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/were-living-through-a-transformation) _2026-06-26 · Kate Howlett_ Nature hasn't disappeared from modern life, but our relationship with it is changing in ways we barely understand ## [The worlds children grow up in](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/the-worlds-children-grow-up-in) _2026-06-19 · Kate Howlett_ A conversation between a child psychiatrist and a social ecologist about nature, mental health and what shapes children’s wellbeing ## [New roots in new gardens](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/new-roots-in-new-gardens) _2026-06-12 · Kate Howlett_ How one garden held my childhood, witnessed loss and taught me what I want for my own child ## [We’re using the wrong ruler to measure progress](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/were-using-the-wrong-ruler-to-measure) _2026-06-05 · Kate Howlett_ Why improving life is not the same thing as improving wealth ## [What if classrooms had plants?](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/what-if-classrooms-had-plants) _2026-06-02 · Kate Howlett_ A small experiment that reveals a big gap in how we design spaces for children ## [Why do we have a word for ‘nature’ at all?](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/why-do-we-have-a-word-for-nature) _2026-05-29 · Kate Howlett_ Different cultures describe the world in radically different ways—and they see things we miss ## [Collect Open Source Legends (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/QvtrGuP1Kyqd) _2026-05-29 · **Sponsored**_ Open-licensed art, limited foil trading packs, and optional on-chain mints. ## [Children learn best when they forget they're being taught](https://howlettk.substack.com/p/children-learn-best-when-they-forget) _2026-05-22 · Kate Howlett_ Why going outside isn't a break from learning. It is learning.