A superhero belt, a hearty dose of time in nature and a bit of dirt are helping shape a new approach to improving children’s health and development.
Early career researcher Dr Kylie Dankiw drew on her childhood exploring creeks and their leafy surrounds in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs.
“I was really, always really passionate about the environment and fascinated in the natural world and how things worked, and our connection to nature,” she said.
“All I did was explore and find things. I remember finding a yabbie claw and I was like ‘why is this here? Don’t they belong in the ocean?’
“It piqued so much curiosity.”
Today that same curiosity is driving research with real-world impact. The “superhero” belt used to observe and track children’s movement and activity – has become a key part of her research, helping build a clearer picture of how kids interact with the world around them. Kids wear the colourful belts around their waist for eight days to track their physical activity from the moment they wake up to when they go to bed. This includes both days at early childhood education and care, such as kindy or day care, as well as at home.
“Physical activity is a big part of the research group, alongside healthy lifestyle factors and behaviours,” Dr Dankiw said.
“Physical activity and energetic – or huff and puff – play is critical, and it’s about facilitating more children to be active when they’re in early childhood education and care, because it’s so important for overall, holistic development – particularly when it happens in nature.
“Research already shows that children are actually more active when they’re outdoors.
“The connection that we build with nature impacts our health, and we need to protect both.
“For me that’s at the heart of my research – wanting to really understand how we can engage people with nature, understand how it benefits us, and then how we can protect nature and sustain it for many generations to come.”
With support from the Firefly Children’s Foundation, Dr Dankiw’s research will help co-create a Bush Kinder Playbook, equipping educators and families with practical tools to improve children’s health and development.
One in four South Australian children begin school developmentally vulnerable, lacking essential skills in social, physical, emotional and cognitive development. Early intervention is critical, with initiatives like three-year-old preschool aiming to address these gaps.
Nature-based programs such as bush kinder have already shown strong wellbeing benefits. However, educators often lack the resources and confidence to implement them effectively. The playbook aims to change that – translating research into practical strategies that can be used in everyday learning environments.
While parents might shudder somewhat at the thought, Dr Dankiw’s research is also drilling down into “dirty” play – hands-on interaction with soil and natural elements.
“It’s really cool and so important – especially exposure to diverse microorganisms,” she said.
“Research from Finland has shown that four weeks after letting children be exposed to really biodiverse soil and vegetation, it’s actually changed their microbiome for the better.”
The challenge is making this kind of play accessible in structured settings.
“Kids love being messy – it’s a rich sensory experience,” she said.
“But it can be challenging for educators and parents, so we’re working together to design approaches that are both safe and allow for that kind of play.”
Dr Dankiw, who admits she “failed every biology test in Year 12” before pursuing science at university, hopes her journey encourages others to follow their interests.
“Follow something that you’re really passionate about or move it in a direction that you are passionate about,” she said.
“You might see a project and think it’s not quite right, but you can mould it into something – keep going down different pathways and look for the gaps, but also what really piques your interest.”
Collaboration is central to her work, bringing together researchers, educators and scientists from different fields.
“We all bring something different,” she said.
“They are talking about all these complex things and organisms and how they work in your body – I have no idea about that, but it’s so cool to learn about that,” she said.
“And then we’re asking-— how do we apply that in real-world settings, in a way that works for children and educators?”
Support from the Firefly Children’s Foundation has been critical in enabling this work.
“Funding from the Foundation is incredibly significant for me as an early career researcher,” Dr Dankiw said.
“It provides the opportunity to lead my own program of work, build research independence, and translate years of research into something that has real-world impact.
“It also supports the development of key skills such as leading a project, building partnerships across the sector, and working directly with stakeholders – which are critical at this stage of my career.
Importantly, it allows me to move beyond identifying gaps in the evidence to co-creating practical solutions.”
The most rewarding part of her project is working directly with children and families.
“The most rewarding part is working with communities and co-designing research,” Dr Dankiw said.
“It ensures what we’re doing is actually meeting the needs of the people it’s designed to support.”
Ultimately, Dr Dankiw hopes her work will help ensure all children have equal access to the benefits of nature.
“I really just want to ensure equity, that children can all get the benefits of being outdoors and in nature and have quality, natural areas around them that they can engage in and feel safe,” she said.
“So, they can thrive and live an amazing life that they deserve.”
