Research project connects neurodivergent young people with nature via Minecraft

Bridging Worlds is a multi-year collaborative research project that is showing how youth work, outdoor learning and gaming can come together to help neurodivergent young people connect with nature, grow in confidence, and make their voices heard.

Co-led by researchers at Plymouth Marjon University and the University of Salford, the project has worked with young people in both Salford and Plymouth since 2023, most recently taking place at Plymouth’s Poole Farm Green Minds Beaver Project from March to July 2025, funded by the Kusuma Trust and awarded by the British Educational Research Association.

The project was a collaboration between Plymouth City Council Poole Farm and Youth Service, bringing together researchers, youth workers, and conservationists.

Through hands-on activities such as wildlife surveys and photography, followed by creative digital work in Minecraft, participants from Plymouth schools explored local wildlife, built virtual habitats and shared ideas on how to protect the environment.

The project’s blend of outdoor adventure and digital creativity helped participants explore environmental issues while building teamwork, confidence and digital skills.

Young people described the project as ‘transformative’, saying it helped them find space to breathe, feel understood and enjoy learning again.

Dr Tracy Hayes, Associate Professor of Education at Plymouth Marjon University, said: “At its heart, Bridging Worlds is about listening to young people - understanding how they learn, what challenges they face, and how creativity and play can help them thrive.

“Young people’s perspectives are vital – they’re showing us that playful, creative approaches can help tackle serious challenges such as biodiversity loss and sharing with us what could improve their experiences of school.

“The group we worked with at Poole Farm surveyed wildlife, designed custom virtual animals and worked collaboratively to solve environmental challenges. Importantly, the young people’s thoughts, opinions and ideas were valued.”

Dr Adam Hart, a Lecturer in Music Technology at the University of Salford, said: “This project has been about creating places where young people are agents of change and can learn to advocate for themselves.

“What we’ve found is that it has really helped increase the confidence and self-esteem of participants. They are more open to staff at school and they’ve been able to reflect on what their needs are and what support they might need.”

Adam’s own research focuses on the use of Minecraft and other sandbox gaming environments to act as creative mechanisms for supporting educational practices.

He said: “Minecraft is such an interesting tool for this as it encourages young people to explore and create in a collaborative setting where they can work with friends. Our focus on this project has been very much about harnessing its potential for youth work.

“Watching them go and create their own digital environment after engaging with the outdoor world has been really interesting as whilst we may have introduced them to the platform and given them the tools, it’s the young people themselves that then build the world and make it their own.”

During the project, young people identified rare species and discovered new beaver dams at Poole Farm, using what they’d seen to create conservation projects on Minecraft before applying what they’d learnt on return trips to Poole Farm.

The researchers say that projects like Bridging Worlds highlight the urgent need for more inclusive approaches in education, with neurodivergent young people are disproportionately represented in exclusion statistics, often reporting feeling misunderstood or unsupported in school.

Findings from the project have been shared at major national conferences and will feature in workshops, podcasts, and toolkits for educators and youth workers.