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Children and nature: Following the trail to environmental attitudes and behavior

Decades of research points to connection between childhood time in nature and environmental attitudes

Nancy Wells and Kristi Lekies, two researchers who have contributed substantially to our understanding of the relationship between childhood time in nature and environmental attitudes and behavior, provide a critical review of related research and recommendations for filling research gaps and increasing the robustness of this area of inquiry. The first portion of the literature review focuses on research on the effect of nature experiences on children’s near-term environmental attitudes and behaviors. This existing research is divided between comparison studies (they reference ten such studies) and non-comparison studies (they reference 15 such studies). Overall the primarily quantitative comparison studies suggest that the impacts of participation in nature-based environmental education programs lead to short-term improvement in environmental attitudes and behavior. The non-comparison studies used a variety of methods, and yielded evidence to suggest that “children who participate in [the programs of study] have greater interests in environmental issues, are more aware of and concerned about nature, want to learn more about nature, and are more likely to adopt pro-environmental behaviors.” Wells and Lekies note the importance of studying the processes by which these effects occur, which is less common than studying outcomes. Of the studies that have looked at the influencing factors on environmental attitudes, the following have emerged as being of particular importance: active, hands on activities; focusing on local issues; access and repeat exposure to sites; engagement in projects that gather field information; active engagement of the teacher; sensory experiences; relationships between participants; and the novelty of and freedom of choice in activities.

The second portion of the literature review focuses on research on the relationship between childhood nature experiences and adult environmental attitudes and behaviors. Particular attention is given to the foundational body of inquiry referred to as significant life experiences (SLE) research. Beginning in the 1980s, numerous studies have consistently found that the greatest commonality among environmental professionals and activists asked to cite influences on their environmental commitment is the importance of time spent in nature during their youth. Wells and Lekies acknowledge that this body of research is not without controversy and offer considerations on issues related to the strength of the causal evidence and the extent to which findings can be generalized. Recommending that existing SLE research be used “to generate hypotheses or as a tool to be used in tandem with other methodologies,” the authors provide examples of several longitudinal studies that have built on, and ultimately provided, evidence that is in alignment with SLE. The authors call for future research that has increasingly rigorous design, uses common measures, and provides greater insight into how or why nature experience programs have effects on environmental outcomes (mediators) and interaction effects such as age, gender, or context (moderators). Ultimately, this article presents evidence from dozens of studies that supports the hypothesis that there is an important relationship between children’s nature experience and adult attitudes and behaviors towards the natural environment.

Citation

Wells, N. M., Lekies, K. S., (2012). Children and nature: Following the trail to environmental attitudes and behavior. In: J. Dickinson and R. Bonney (Eds.) Citizen Science: public collaboration in environmental research. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press., 201 - 213.

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