Showing papers in "Environmental Education Research in 2014"
TL;DR: Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research as mentioned in this paper is a special issue of Environmental Education Research, which introduces the importance of land education.
Abstract: This editorial introduces a special issue of Environmental Education Research titled ‘Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research.’ The editorial begins with an overview of each of the nine articles in the issue and their contributions to land and environmental education, before outlining features of land education in more detail. ‘Key considerations’ of land education are discussed, including: Land and settler colonialism, Land and Indigenous cosmologies, Land and Indigenous agency and resistance, and The significance of naming. The editorial engages the question ‘Why land education?’ by drawing distinctions between land education and current forms of place-based education. It closes with a discussion of modes and methods of land education research.
413 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research studies published between 1999 and 2010 that empirically evaluated the outcomes of environmental education programs for youth (ages 18 and younger) in an attempt to address the following objectives: (1) seek reported empirical evidence for what works (or does not) in EE programming and (2) uncover lessons regarding promising approaches for future EE initiatives and their evaluation.
Abstract: 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.
267 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop key messages for the theory and practice of environmental education from a review of recent research literature on climate change communication (CCC) and education, and propose a framework for environmental education.
Abstract: This paper sets out to develop key messages for the theory and practice of environmental education from a review of recent research literature on climate change communication (CCC) and education. I ...
222 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the ways in which settler colonialism is entrenched and reified in educational environments and explore lessons learned from an urban Indigenous land-based education project.
Abstract: In this paper, we aim to contribute to ongoing work to uncover the ways in which settler colonialism is entrenched and reified in educational environments and explore lessons learned from an urban Indigenous land-based education project. In this project, we worked to re-center our perceptual habits in Indigenous cosmologies, or land-based perspectives, and came to see land re-becoming itself. Through this recentering, we unearthed some ways in which settler colonialism quietly operates in teaching and learning environments and implicitly and explicitly undermines Indigenous agency and futurity by maintaining and reifying core dimensions of settler colonial relations to land. We describe examples in which teachers and community members explicitly re-engaged land-based perspectives in the design and implementation of a land-based environmental science education that enabled epistemological and ontological centering that significantly impacted learning, agency, and resilience for urban Indigenous youth and f...
186 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the ways in which settler colonialism shapes place in the social studies curriculum, producing understandings of land and citizenship in educational settings, and uses the emergent framework of land education to move forward the important projects of place-based education.
Abstract: This article examines the ways in which settler colonialism shapes place in the social studies curriculum, producing understandings of land and citizenship in educational settings. To do this, the author uses the emergent framework of land education to move forward the important projects of place-based education, especially its potential for centering indigeneity and confronting educational forms of settler colonialism in environmental education. To emphasize how place-based education can intersect with land education, the author outlines how a concept of place, informed by Indigenous knowledge, renders settler colonialism visible. The author then describes how current models of place-based education differ from land education in a number of ways. Finally, using a land education approach, the author demonstrates how schooling, through social studies curriculum, transmits a settler colonial land ethic that must be made explicit in order to decolonize settler colonial relations attached to current pedagogic...
161 citations
TL;DR: The authors draw attention to the possibilities of the ongoing philosophical discussion about cosmopolitan universal values in relation to the normative challenges in environmental and sustainabilistic challenges in sustainable agriculture and food systems.
Abstract: This article draws attention to the possibilities of the ongoing philosophical discussion about cosmopolitan universal values in relation to the normative challenges in environmental and sustainabi ...
115 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the results of a nationwide questionnaire study of 3229 Swedish upper secondary school teachers' understanding of sustainable development in relation to their subject discipline are described, based on a survey conducted by the Swedish Academy.
Abstract: This article describe the results of a nationwide questionnaire study of 3229 Swedish upper secondary school teachers’ understanding of sustainable development in relation to their subject discipli ...
112 citations
TL;DR: A survey with 46 early childhood educators from northern Minnesota (USA) to explore their beliefs and practices regarding natural outdoor settings, as well investigate predictors of and barriers to the educational use of these settings.
Abstract: In efforts to encourage use of natural outdoor settings as learning environments within early childhood education, survey research was conducted with 46 early childhood educators from northern Minnesota (United States) to explore their beliefs and practices regarding natural outdoor settings, as well investigate predictors of and barriers to the educational use of these settings Of the beliefs measured, only two were significantly related to frequency of use of natural outdoor settings: belief regarding difficulty in using natural outdoor settings and belief regarding their relationship to nature The strongest predictor of use was belief regarding difficulty in using natural outdoor settings, accounting for 677% of the variance in the regression model Results indicate primary barriers to be lack of walking access to natural outdoor settings, lack of time, winter weather, and safety concerns These findings suggest efforts to increase early childhood educators’ use of natural outdoor settings should no
105 citations
TL;DR: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in pre-school children's meaning-making and learning in education for sustainability as discussed by the authors, and young children should be recognized as "agents for change" a
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in pre-school children’s meaning-making and learning in education for sustainability. Young children should be recognized as ‘agents for change’ a ...
83 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that a fundamental cultural shift is needed to effectively address anthropogenic causes of climate change, and they draw on the youth civic engagement literature to propose a framework that can be used as a basis to guide further development of evidence-based practices.
Abstract: In this paper, we argue that a fundamental cultural shift is needed to effectively address anthropogenic causes of climate change. Evidence suggests that youth are well positioned to create such transformation. While various studies have contributed empirical evidence to numerous youth-based non-formal environmental engagement programmes, what is missing in the environmental education literature is discussion of a systematic approach to the development and evaluation of these programs. In this paper, we draw on the youth civic engagement literature to propose a framework that can be used as a basis to guide further development of evidence-based practices. Five major components are described as follows: (1) the engagement activity; (2) the engagement process; (3) initiating and sustaining factors; (4) mediators and moderators; and (5) outcomes. This approach to youth engagement can inform both researchers trying to study effective ways of creating change and practitioners developing environmental programme...
78 citations
TL;DR: A ghetto land pedagogy as mentioned in this paper argues that ghetto colonialism is a specialization of settler colonialism and that land justice requires decolonization, not just environmental justice, and proposes a decolonizing cartography as a method for land education, illustrated through a discussion of land in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Abstract: A ghetto land pedagogy begins with two axioms that align it with land education more broadly, and that distinguish it from the general umbrella of environmental education. First, ghetto colonialism is a specialization of settler colonialism. Second, land justice requires decolonization, not just environmental justice. A ghetto land pedagogy thus attends to an analysis of settler colonialism, offers a critique of settler environmentalism, and forwards a decolonizing cartography as a method for land education. This article discusses ‘storied land’ as a critical cartographic method for land education, illustrated through a discussion of land in the San Francisco Bay Area.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated student teachers' understandings of the environment and perceptions of its relevance to their teaching area, at the onset and toward the end of their studies in teacher-education colleges in Israel.
Abstract: The environment is not only an ecological entity distinct from people but a cultural, social, and political construct. Understanding how learners conceptualize ‘environment’ may contribute to more effective environmental education (EE). This study investigated, in a paired pre–post design, 215 students’ understandings of ‘environment’ and perceptions of its relevance to their teaching area, at the onset and toward the end of their studies in teacher-education colleges in Israel. While student teachers, regardless of their major, acknowledged the importance of EE to their future function as teachers, they do not demonstrate an adequate understanding of the concept environment: humans are not viewed as part of the environment nor is the environment understood as a complex web of interactions among people, man-made systems and natural ecosystems. The fact that toward the end of studies, student teachers’ understandings of environment remained essentially basic indicates the necessity to reorient teacher-educ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated 77 New Zealand student teachers' understandings of sustainability and the level of self-awareness of their understandings and found that many of these student teachers had simplistic understandings that were focused on an environmental component.
Abstract: Understanding sustainability is important, as people need to cope with issues associated with over-population and over-consumption. Education is seen as a key strategy to assist with the development of people’s understandings of this complex concept, which could then lead to them being able to make more sustainable lifestyle decisions. In order to teach this concept, teachers need to understand sustainability. This paper investigated 77 New Zealand student teachers’ understandings of sustainability and the level of self-awareness of their understandings. A definition of sustainability was developed for this research from which two tools were constructed to measure these teachers’ level of understanding and self-awareness. Findings showed that many of these student teachers had simplistic understandings of sustainability that were focused on an environmental component. Further evidence of their low level of understanding was illustrated in the way that over half of this group were not able to accurately ra...
TL;DR: The authors found that feeling connected to animals at the zoo is significantly associated with cognitive and emotional responses to climate change, as well as with other social groupings and social responses, and overall, the zoo seems to present a supportive social context for considering the topic.
Abstract: Societal response to climate change has been inadequate. A perception that the issue is both physically and temporally remote may reduce concern; concern may also be affected by the political polarization surrounding the issue in the USA. A feeling of connection to nature or to animals may increase personal relevance, and a supportive social context may counteract political tensions. Zoos may provide opportunities for both sense of connection and social support. We surveyed over 7000 zoo and aquarium visitors to examine the ways in which a feeling of personal connection among zoo visitors may encourage concern about climate change. Results show that feeling connected to animals at the zoo is significantly associated with cognitive and emotional responses to climate change, as well as with other social groupings and social responses. Overall, the zoo seems to present a supportive social context for considering the topic.
TL;DR: The Living and Learning about Sustainability in the Early Years (LLEES) workshop as discussed by the authors was a professional development session that provided opportunities for early childhood educators to learn and share ideas about the theory and practice of sustainability generally and early childhood education for sustainability specifically.
Abstract: In recent times, Australia has recognised and enacted a range of initiatives at service, system and community levels that seek to embed sustainability into the early childhood sector. This paper explores the impact of a professional development (PD) session that provided opportunities for early childhood educators to learn and share ideas about the theory and practice of sustainability generally and early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) specifically. The PD was entitled ‘Living and Learning about Sustainability in the Early Years’ and was offered on three occasions across Tasmania. A total of 99 participants attended the three PD sessions (one 5 hour; two 2 hour). The participants had varying levels of experience and included early childhood teachers, centre based educators and preservice teachers. At the start and end of the PD, participants were invited to complete a questionnaire that contained a series of likert scale questions that explored their content knowledge, level of understandi...
TL;DR: The teaching green school building as mentioned in this paper is an emergent type of school building that attempts to engage building users with environmental issues in buildings, which can be a building that offers informal education, support for formal environmental education, and overall a chance for students to embody sustainable living in their daily lives at school.
Abstract: The ‘Teaching Green School Building’ is an emergent type of school building that attempts to engage building users with environmental issues in buildings. Architectural interventions in these buildings range from signage to interactive touch screens to gardens and demonstration kitchens that foster educational programmes about sustainable food. The result can be a building that offers informal education, support for formal environmental education, and, overall, a chance for students to embody sustainable living in their daily lives at school. To date, this type of building has been weakly theorized, and the relationship between architectural interventions and environmental education largely unexplored in the literature. This literature review weaves together theories that connect the physical environment with human factors. In particular, research in environmental education, museum studies, conservation psychology and architecture illuminates ways in which buildings can support environmental education and...
TL;DR: The results of two case studies of Ontario Environmental Studies Programs (ESPs) showed that students believe that they can effect environmental change but that they struggle with ways to meaningfully enact that change in light of real world constraints as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In Canada, there exists a noteworthy educational initiative referred to as Environmental Studies Programs (ESPs). These secondary school programs are interdisciplinary, helping to link subject matter and encouraging student responsibility. The results of two case studies of Ontario ESPs that analyze the impact of ESP participation on students’ attitudes to, and relationships with, the environment and the extent to which program participation informs domestic pro-environmental behaviors and/or emancipatory social and environmental actions are presented. The results from the focus group sessions indicate that students believe that they can effect environmental change but that they struggle with ways to meaningfully enact that change in light of ‘real world’ constraints.
TL;DR: A review summarises research that has sought to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) and digita... as mentioned in this paper, which can involve hands-on experimentation alongside the retrieval and critical analysis of information from diverse sources and perspectives.
Abstract: United Nations of Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO’s) founding statements about environmental education (EE) in the 1970s positioned it as a multidisciplinary field of inquiry. When enacted as such, it challenges traditional ways of organising secondary school education by academic subject areas. Equally, according to UNESCO, EE requires various forms of integrated and project-based teaching and learning approaches. These can involve hands-on experimentation alongside the retrieval and critical analysis of information from diverse sources and perspectives, and with different qualities and statuses. Multidisciplinary and knowledge engagement challenges are key considerations for an EE curriculum designed to harness information and communication technologies (ICT) to support and enhance student learning, which also challenge traditional instructional priorities that for example are largely based on textbooks. This review summarises research that has sought to integrate ICT and digita...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the development and piloting of an evaluative instrument and process for monitoring the environmental literacy (EL) of undergraduate students in one large research-led university in New Zealand.
Abstract: We report the development and piloting of an evaluative instrument and process for monitoring the environmental literacy (EL) of undergraduate students in one large research-led university in New Zealand. The instrument addresses knowledge, affect and competencies in the general area of EL in line with this institution’s adoption of EL as a graduate attribute (or in a US context, a general-education learning outcome, and something to be fostered throughout a student’s education). The instrument and associated processes were designed to fit within conventional institutional mechanisms that manage student feedback on the quality of teaching. The instrument was tested with more than 600 students from more than eight programmes over the course of a year and its use stressed that students were anonymous within the survey. We conclude that evaluating (or in a US context, assessing) the extent to which students acquire EL is an achievable objective and is a reasonable expectation for any higher education institu...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make use of proposed definitions of environmental literacy to guide the application of Rasch analysis and utilize the developed instrumentation to further inform the work of environmental educators.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to make use of proposed definitions of environmental literacy to (1) guide the application of Rasch analysis and (2) utilize the developed instrumentation to further inform the work of environmental educators. A total of 2311 preservice teachers attending Faculty of Education departments of four public universities located in the capital city of Turkey provided data for this study. The instrument used included a knowledge scale, an attitude scale, an attitude towards environmental responsibility scale and a concern scale. Rasch analysis revealed which those items which address the environmental knowledge widely broadcasted by mass media also were answered correctly by most participants. Generally, instrument items that addressed the understanding of the interrelated nature of environmental knowledge were answered incorrectly by participants. Analysis of attitude and attitude towards environmental responsibility scales indicated that the preservice teachers exhibited the most ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the current prevalence of a rigid disciplinary academic framework and discuss its limitations in the face of complex demands, such as sustainability science (SS) and technology.
Abstract: Interdisciplinarity plays a major role in the debate about the sustainability of human societies, in general, and about the crisis and the future of the University. If the twentieth century can be identified as an era of specialization in Academia, there is a tendency now to add interdisciplinary spaces to the traditional disciplinary research and training organization. Non-academic research institutions (NARIs) are showing more flexibility than universities to respond to problem-oriented demands. This article analyzes the current prevalence of a rigid disciplinary academic framework and discusses its limitations in the face of complex demands, such as sustainability science (SS) and technology. Examples from the Brazilian graduate programs in SS are presented to describe some institutional pathologies that usually affect the attempts to achieve interdisciplinarity and SS and technology. Among the main conclusions, are the need for more interaction among universities and NARIs and the need to integrate di...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effects of such differences in presentation when informing about local impacts of climate change, more specifically about invasive species, on perceived risk, emotions, and learning.
Abstract: Environmental issues such as climate change are becoming ever more important in today’s societies and politics. Information is spread by the media, for example, via the Internet or information brochures, employing different representational styles (e.g. sensational vs. neutral styles, emphasis of human vs. natural causes). We investigated the effects of such differences in presentation when informing about local impacts of climate change – more specifically about invasive species – on perceived risk, emotions, and learning. Seventy-two students at a German university read five brochures about the local effects of climate change and invasive species. They rated their perceived risk and emotions and worked on learning outcome tests. As expected, the sensational style led to higher perceived risk and stronger negative emotions than the neutral style. In addition, our results reveal a potential dilemma for environmental education: while a sensational style enhanced general learning outcomes, it seemed to lead...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the Torres Strait Islander concept of Sea Country and Torres Strait Ailan Kastom (translated as ‘Island Custom’), and analyse some of the ways in which settler colonisation has challenged these ways of knowing and being.
Abstract: In this paper, we contribute to land education research by focusing on the Torres Strait Islands in the Coral Sea at the far north of tip of Cape York, Australia. We describe the Torres Strait Islander concept of Sea Country and Torres Strait Ailan Kastom (translated as ‘Island Custom’). We then analyse some of the ways in which settler colonisation has challenged these ways of knowing and being. Our inquiry looks at how Sea Country is positioned within two contemporary Australian examples of environmental education: firstly, within the new Australian Curriculum cross-curriculum priorities that mandate that special attention be given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and also to the concept of sustainability; and secondly, within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Sea Country Guardians programme This analysis of environmental education curriculum and practice identifies the ways in which the concept of Sea Country and the Indigenous cosmology it represents are sim...
TL;DR: This article investigated the ways students conceptualize climate as a system or how components of the system influence climate and constructed path diagrams to illustrate these students' conceptions about how a climate system influences climate and how greenhouse gases and global warming impact the climate system.
Abstract: Although many environmental and science educators have explored students’ conceptual understandings, misconceptions, and knowledge of the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change, few have investigated the ways students conceptualize climate as a system or how components of the system influence climate. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to begin the process of understanding how US students conceptualize a climate system. A total of 42 seventh grade students (ages 12–13) from the Midwest completed an open-response task. From the inductive analysis of student written responses, 22 codes emerged that reflected students’ conceptions of the climate system. From these codes, three path diagrams were constructed that illustrate these students’ conceptions about how a climate system influences climate and how greenhouse gases and global warming impact the climate system. A generalized model of students’ conception of a climate system was generated. Students in this study conceptualized a clima...
TL;DR: The authors found that most students held scientific conceptions of nature (excluding humans) and a utilitarian relationship with nature, a predominantly anthroprocentric worldview, a small number held aesthetic conceptualisations and an intrinsic value relationship: an ecocentric worldview.
Abstract: This paper reports a study of 384 13–14-year olds’ written responses to open-ended questions about their understanding of and relationship with ‘nature’. Using constant comparative method the responses were coded, categorised and themed. Most students held scientific conceptions of nature (excluding humans) and a utilitarian relationship with nature, a predominantly anthroprocentric worldview. A small number held aesthetic conceptualisations and an intrinsic value relationship: an ecocentric worldview. A substantial number of students however were neither anthroprocentric or ecocentric but rather expressed a conception of and relationship with nature which reflected aspects of Bonnett’s ‘human-related’ relationship (Bonnett, M. 2004. Retrieving Nature: Education for a Post-humanist Age. Oxford: Blackwell). The findings from this study challenge a simple binary approach in which students’ environmental worldviews would be analysed as either predominantly anthroprocentric or ecocentric. Bonnett’s ‘human-rel...
TL;DR: In this paper, a sociocultural framework was used to examine the learning processes used by families during visits to one nature center, where they participated in an environmental education program and a followup task to draw the habitat of raptors.
Abstract: Using a sociocultural framework to approach intergenerational learning, this inquiry examines learning processes used by families during visits to one nature center. Data were collected from videotaped observations of families participating in an environmental education program and a follow-up task to draw the habitat of raptors. Based on a thematic analysis, researchers developed two themes about the learning processes at play in the nature center, related to the use of prior knowledge. First, families’ prior knowledge used at the nature center came from informal education activities: (a) observation in the outdoors and spaces designed to represent an aspect of nature, (b) media (including books and Internet), and (c) experiences at informal education institutions. Second, when sharing prior knowledge, participation frameworks were created through the conversation that leveled the hierarchy between parent and child allowing for negotiation and collaborative idea formation. In the nature center, families ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the impact of the training on 67 second year undergraduate design and engineering students at Plymouth University using pre-and post-training values and worldview scales measured against a control group.
Abstract: Education for sustainable development aims to help learners engage with the concept of sustainability. This paper considers whether specific values-centred sustainability training techniques can promote personal engagement with sustainability when undertaken by higher education students on an extra-curricular voluntary basis. Conducted over an eight-month period, the study evaluates the impact of the training on 67 second year undergraduate design and engineering students at Plymouth University using pre- and post-training values and worldview scales measured against a control group. Four months after the training, one-to-one interviews were conducted with a subset of the sample. A quantitative analysis of the values and worldview surveys indicates that a degree of values clarification and mind-set shift resulted from the training, with design students appearing more receptive than those studying engineering. This finding was reinforced in the interview data, which illustrates where and how learners engag...
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Flanders, a sub-national entity of Belgium, is presented.
Abstract: In this paper, we address the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Flanders, a sub-national entity of Belgium. Our analysis shows how the policy-making process in Flanders is inextricably intertwined with three developments in environmental and educational policy: the increasing impact of ESD policy and discourse on environmental education, the framing of social and political problems as learning problems, and ecological modernisation. These trends give shape to a post-ecologist and post-political policy regime and, thus, affect what is possible and acceptable within Flemish ESD policy. However, this case study also revealed that these developments do not completely determine ESD policy-making in Flanders. Our examination thus allowed us to understand how the actual policy translation in a particular local setting brings about powers that legitimise and maintain as well as counteract the bounds of the policy regime that emerged in the context of the UN Decade.
TL;DR: This article examined the effectiveness of environmental education within a zoo setting, focusing on the role of learners' identity-related motivation, with preliminary data suggesting that Spiritual Pilgrims and Experience Seekers demonstrate greater gains in knowledge of environmental issues compared with Facilitators.
Abstract: With the number and scope of environmental challenges continuing to increase, an understanding of the effectiveness of conservation programs is essential in order to allocate limited resources. This paper examines the effectiveness of environmental education within a zoo setting, focusing on the role of learners’ identity-related motivation. Results from survey (n = 296) and interview (n = 116) data collected from visitors to the Toronto Zoo suggest that education success is dependent on visitors’ dominant motivation, with preliminary data suggesting that Spiritual Pilgrims and Experience Seekers demonstrate greater gains in knowledge of environmental issues compared with Facilitators. Given that most zoo visitors fell into this Facilitator group, this finding may have an effect on future zoo management decisions. In addition, the proportion of visitors falling into each motivation group was significantly different than those previously found in the United States (p = 0.05), suggesting that zoo education ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the aim of the study was to gain insight into undergraduate students' environmental worldviews by exploring their ideas about nature and human-nature relationships Participants were 29 students from a university in Taiwan Interviews were employed as the dominant method, while a questionnaire survey was also used to support the sample selection and enhance the understanding of the interview data.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to gain insight into undergraduate students’ environmental worldviews by exploring their ideas about nature and human–nature relationships Participants were 29 students from a university in Taiwan Interviews were employed as the dominant method, while a questionnaire survey was also used to support the sample selection and enhance the understanding of the interview data Interview responses were analyzed using a phenomenographic approach and revealed a variation of students’ ideas One key finding was that although the students were generally pro-ecological, their ideas about nature and human–nature relationships seemed to be often a mixture of worldview tendencies typically as follows: (1) humankind is part of nature and subject to natural laws, and thus cannot possibly destroy nature; (2) humankind plays a dominator role in nature, but can be ‘replaced’ by other species; and (3) humankind should take responsibility for nature in order to secure sufficient natural resources and