‘Longing So Much!’ Children's Meanings of Nature Contact During COVID‐19 Restrictions in Brazil

ABSTRACT This study examines how children in Brazil described and interpreted their contact with nature during COVID‐19 social restriction. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and follow‐up telephone interviews with elementary school children and analysed using the Discourse of the Collective Subject method. Findings indicate that, rather than simply experiencing reduced contact, many children redefined nature through everyday micro‐environments such as home surroundings and nearby outdoor spaces. An asymmetry was observed between children's lived interaction with natural elements and their explicit identification of these experiences as “nature contact.” Children frequently associated nature with emotional relief, wellbeing and a sense of freedom during confinement. The results highlight the interpretive and meaning‐based character of child–environment relationships and illustrate the conceptual complexity of how children situate themselves in relation to the more‐than‐built environment. By focusing on children's perspectives in the Global South context, the study contributes to understanding how meanings of nature are constructed under conditions of social restriction.