Outdoor play and nature-based activities can help buffer some of the harm the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the mental health of adolescents, a new study suggests. Researchers say the findings point to outdoor play and nature-based activities as a tool to help teenagers cope with major stressors like the pandemic, as well as future natural disasters and other global stressors. They also underscore the mental health implications of restricting outdoor recreation opportunities for adolescents, and the need to increase access to the outdoors. “Families should be encouraged that building patterns in outdoor recreation can give kids tools to weather the storms to come,” said Kathryn Stevenson, assistant professor of parks, recreation, and tourism management at North Carolina State University and co-author of the paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. “Things happen in life, and getting kids outside regularly is an easy way to build some mental resilience,” …