As people migrate to digital environments they produce an enormous amount of data, such as images, videos, data from mobile sensors, text, and usage logs. These digital footprints documenting people’s spontaneous behaviors in natural environments are a gold mine for social scientists, offering novel insights; more diversity; and more reliable, replicable, and ecologically valid results.

In this revised chapter, the authors reiterate the fundamental importance of children’s learning experiences in natural environments. However, they challenge educators to re-examine their worldviews and pedagogies around such experiences. Relationships between humans and nature are problematic – especially at this critical juncture in Earth’s history. The authors make a compelling case for Australian immersive nature play programs (INPPs) as offering opportunities to explore a nature–sustainability nexus. They discuss three stories from the field to illustrate their arguments. Further, they propose that authentically embedding First Nations peoples’ worldviews into INPPs presents additional richness for teaching and learning in nature programs.

Over very long periods of time, as people moved to different parts of Earth, they began to recognize that nature was the source of their lives and livelihood and that Earth should be treated with respect and care. This knowledge became the basis of indigenous understanding and cultures, which are the result of hard-earned lessons gained over thousands of years.