The promotion of environmental knowledge is viewed as a fundamental component of environmental education and a necessary prerequisite to ecological behaviour; however, it has little effect on actual behaviour. Nature-based environmental education, which combines the acquisition of environmental knowledge with the promotion of an intrinsic driver, namely connectedness to nature, is proposed as a holistic approach to increase ecological behaviour. This paper evaluates the effect of participation in nature-based environmental education in 4th to 6th graders (N = 255). As expected, increased participation in nature-based environmental education was related to greater ecological behaviour, mediated by increases in environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature. While both factors were similarly predicted by participation in nature-based environmental education, connectedness to nature explained 69% and environmental knowledge 2% of the variance in ecological behaviour. However, the design of our data do not evidence the causality of these relations, which are solely based on theoretical assumptions supported by literature. Nevertheless, the importance of fostering both environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature as complementary drivers of ecological behaviour, as offered by nature-based environmental education, should be researched further as a highly promising approach to fostering ecologically-motivated individuals.

Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature, together, are related to ecological behaviour

We conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research studies published between 1999 and 2010 that empirically evaluated the outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs for youth (ages 18 and younger) in an attempt to address the following objectives: (1) to seek reported empirical evidence for what works (or does not) in EE programming and (2) to uncover lessons regarding promising approaches for future EE initiatives and their evaluation. While the review generally supports consensus-based best practices, such as those published in the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Guidelines for Excellence, we also identified additional themes that may drive positive outcomes, including the provision of holistic experiences and the characteristics and delivery styles of environmental educators. Overall, the evidence in support of these themes contained in the 66 articles reviewed is mostly circumstantial. Few studies attempted to empirically isolate the characteristics of programs responsible for measured outcomes. We discuss general trends in research design and the associated implications for future research and EE programming.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13504622.2013.838749

Environmental education program evaluation in the new millennium: what do we measure and what have we learned?

There has been increasing attention to and investment in local environmental stewardship in conservation and environmental management policies and programs globally Yet environmental stewardship has not received adequate conceptual attention Establishing a clear definition and comprehensive analytical framework could strengthen our ability to understand the factors that lead to the success or failure of environmental stewardship in different contexts and how to most effectively support and enable local efforts Here we propose such a definition and framework First, we define local environmental stewardship as the actions taken by individuals, groups or networks of actors, with various motivations and levels of capacity, to protect, care for or responsibly use the environment in pursuit of environmental and/or social outcomes in diverse social–ecological contexts Next, drawing from a review of the environmental stewardship, management and governance literatures, we unpack the elements of this definition to develop an analytical framework that can facilitate research on local environmental stewardship Finally, we discuss potential interventions and leverage points for promoting or supporting local stewardship and future applications of the framework to guide descriptive, evaluative, prescriptive or systematic analysis of environmental stewardship Further application of this framework in diverse environmental and social contexts is recommended to refine the elements and develop insights that will guide and improve the outcomes of environmental stewardship initiatives and investments Ultimately, our aim is to raise the profile of environmental stewardship as a valuable and holistic concept for guiding productive and sustained relationships with the environment

/pdf/environmental-stewardship-a-conceptual-review-and-analytical-2tlu3vrjf5.pdf

Environmental Stewardship: A Conceptual Review and Analytical Framework.

Experiencing nature in children's summer camps: Affective, cognitive and behavioural consequences

Environmental education outcomes for conservation: A systematic review

The authors explored the influences of 3- and 5-day residential environmental education
programs at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (TN) on participants’ connections
with nature, environmental stewardship, interest in learning and discovery, and awareness of
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and biodiversity. The authors found significant positive,
short-term effects on all outcomes of interest. Also, 3-month delayed posttests indicated retention
of significant gains in environmental stewardship and awareness, whereas other gains faded. Longer
stays and active engagement of visiting teachers in on-site instruction enhanced most outcomes. The
authors discuss the influences of pre-visit preparation and group size on participants.

Stern, Marc, J

Papers

What Difference Does It Make? AssessingOutcomes From Participation in aResidential Environmental EducationProgram