<p>When children can understand their surrounding environments (whether it be the natural environment or their built environment) it is said that they can connect more deeply and have a heightened awareness of their surroundings (Kelly, 2013). This connection and heightened awareness can open their eyes to prevalent environmental issues, increasing their sense of social responsibility. The research on this type of learning generally occurs in formal institutions (i.e., a school), non-formal centers (i.e., at an outdoor education center), or informal meeting places (i.e., at a park with a parent). I conducted a primarily qualitative study?utilizing arts-based research (ABR) methods and environmental art education theory?to better understand school-aged children?s (5-10 years of age) engagement with nature during indoor nature-based art classes. I observed children within a small, mountain-town school (Kindergarten ? 5th grade) while they engaged in various artistic activities such as drawing, finger painting, and watercolor. My purpose was to gauge whether indoor nature-based art activities compelled elementary aged children to engage in meaningful conversation about nature. I assessed meaningfulness by the structure of their sentences and topics of their discussions that ensued. This assessment included looking for changes over time in students? reaction to the art they were creating and the subsequent connections they were making. Results demonstrate that students are deeply engaged in their artwork and talk mostly about memories related to nature and what aspects of nature their artwork inspires. Given that these activities provoked students to be thinking about nature, schools may want to consider conducting similar activities if they are unable to provide quality time outdoors for their students but want to help their students maintain a nature connection.

<p> Environmental service-learning is an intentional educational experience(s) wherein learners engage in meaningful activities designed to serve the environment. Environmental service-learning activities vary according to their learning and service goals and include ecomanagement, persuasion, legal action, economic action and political action. The purpose of this mixed methods research was to explore the ecological and educational impacts of grades 6-12 environmental education, with special attention to environmental service-learning throughout Portland, Oregon.</p><p> Ecological impacts considered restoration and conservation outcomes of several environmental service-learning programs including plant communities, soils, litter removal and trail maintenance. Educational outcomes considered aspects of environmental literacy including locus of control, environmental sensitivity, indicated environmentally responsible behaviors, investigating environmental issues and knowledge of physical systems. The relative influence of some significant life experiences on youths' response to environmental education, including environmental service-learning, was also considered. Telephone surveys were used to gather data from 22 Portland metropolitan area environmental education programs. Data included 2014 annual biophysical impacts (e.g., area of invasive species removed, pounds of litter removed) and information on programming (e.g., length of program, % time outside). Eleven programs administered a 33-question environmental literacy assessment to participants of their programs (n=393). The assessment included the New Environmental Paradigm, the Inclusion of Nature in Self, questions from Environmental Identity Scale and self-constructed questions. One 8^th grade program was identified for a detailed case study. In this 8^th grade programs, slight variations in educational activities occurred among three treatment groups which varied the amount of time youth spent engaged in ecomanagement. Youth from the three treatment groups and a control group were administered the environmental literacy assessment at the beginning and end of the program. Qualitative data for the youth in the treatment groups were gathered to further consider how environmental literacy was impacted by participation in the program. </p><p> Stronger associational correlations to environmental literacy occurred for the percentage of time an environmental education program spent outdoors rather than the percentage of time an environmental education program engaged in environmental service-learning (e.g., &ldquo;With other people, I can work to make a positive impact on the environment.&rdquo; rho: .276 vs. &ldquo;I have the skills necessary to make a positive impact on the environment.&rdquo; rho: .176). Random forests indicated that environmental education program features and some significant life experiences could predict collapsed environmental literacy variables (locus of control, environmental sensitivity and environmentally responsible behaviors). 22.4% of the variance in a collapsed environmental sensitivity variable was explained by nine predictor variables; those variables with the strongest influence were youth response to &ldquo;Before this program, how frequently did you spend time in the outdoors&rdquo;, age and the presence of a positive adult role model who cares for the environment. Youth participating in environmental education programs showed higher environmental literacy than control groups (e.g., &ldquo;I feel an important part of my life would be missing if I couldn't get out and enjoy nature from time to time&rdquo; U: 3642.500, p: 0.025). Youth with significant formative life experiences (e.g., those indicating previous environmental education or a positive adult role model that cares for the environment) responded better (higher environmental literacy) to environmental education than those youth without (&ldquo;I pay special attention to things outdoors.&rdquo; chi 10.633, p: 0.031).</p><p> This research provides insight on the efficacy of environmental service-learning. Environmental service-learning positively affected environmental literacy, but outdoor environmental education was more effective in terms of environmental literacy. Results corroborate the body of literature regarding significant life experiences. Further, results suggest that significant life experiences are a critical development milestone necessary for youth to respond to environmental education on a developmental trajectory to empowered environmentally literate citizens.</p>

<p> This study is an exploratory phenomenological investigation into wilderness users' self-reports about their wilderness experience in two wilderness areas in the Verde Valley, located in north central Arizona. The research inquiry states: <i>What are wilderness users' self-reported reasons for exploring the wilderness, and what effects do they (the users) report after their explorations?</i> The research inquiry strives to investigate the <i>phenomenon</i> that surrounds the <i>wilderness experience</i> and visitors' reasons for their explorations in the wilderness. The data were collected on three weekends in March 2013 at three different trailheads located on the wilderness boundaries of Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness and Sycamore Canyon Wilderness. Over 200 participants contributed data. The data were collected using a demographic form, a questionnaire, and one open-ended interview question. Results from the research found that 88% of participants in the research hold a college education or higher. Over 25% of the participants went to the wilderness areas for the natural environment, which includes the climate, terrain, and rocks. All participants commented on one of the five themes as effects the wilderness had upon them. The five themes were spiritual connectedness, acknowledgement of physical beauty, emotional expression of self, awareness of physical impact, and psychological translation of well-being. Over fifty years of wilderness visitor research supported these research findings. In addition, results, recommendations, limitations, and conclusions are drawn from the research that supported current trends and establishes new ones. The research is built upon pervious wilderness visitor research, and provides a foundation for future research to continue.</p>

<p> This thesis seeks to understand the impacts and outcomes of a six-week wildlife habitat monitoring internship on the 12 adolescent students who participated. The opportunity for this project sprung from my involvement in the design and implementation of this internship at Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, Colorado. The interns spent six-weeks performing field data collection for the United States Forest Service, learning about ecology, botany, and environmental ethics, and earning college credit for their work. Inductive analysis was used to analyze data from a variety of sources. The results indicated that this internship was an effective model for instilling a sense of place, commitment to conservation, and increased sense of self-efficacy among its participants. Hands-on field research of this type has potential to increase sense of place, commitment to conservation, and a sense of self-efficacy, thereby augmenting a student's engagement in science, and improving performance in advanced science courses.</p>

<p> Two related exploratory studies, one with families, and a second one with adult and child members of an independent school community, suggest that our connections with the rhythms, processes, species, and cycles of nature, our <i>love</i> and feelings of affinity for nature, can be strengthened by practicing contemplation outdoors. In The Family Nature Workshop Study, urban and suburban families participated in a seven-week <i> Contemplation in Nature</i> program, and in The Sit Spot Study, children and adult members from an urban school community practiced sitting quietly outdoors, recording observations in a journal twice a week for five weeks. Changes in connectedness were measured using the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (Schultz, 2001), the Ten-item Connectedness to Nature Scale (C. Frantz, email communication, January 11, 2012), the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (Greco, Baer &amp; Smith, 2011), and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown &amp; Ryan, 2003). Analysis of journal entries provided additional insight into the participants' experiences of self, experiences of the world outside of self, experiences of the self in relationship with other community members, and expressions of Biophilia Values (Kellert &amp; Wilson, 1993). The journals reveal a picture of nature found in suburban and urban landscapes as it was perceived and experienced by the humans in the environment, people who were willing to take time out of busy schedules to pause, sit, listen, and learn. The journals thereby open a window through which we can view the everyday and extraordinary experiences of being a human in and as part of nature.</p>

<p> This dissertation explores the confluence between transformative learning (TL), education for sustainability (EfS), and Expeditionary Learning (EL). The researcher has studied the experiences of EL graduates from three high schools and asked the question: does participation in an EL high school result in transformative learning? If so, what are the elements that compose this (or series of) transformative learning experience(s) and what learning structures within EL specifically support TL? These transformative learning experiences include changes in identity, paradigmatic or mental modal change, and/or behavior change. Lastly, the research reveals sustainability-supportive qualities of graduates that emerge from the transformative learning experiences. Results from the research indicate there are three learning realms from which students experienced transformative learning experiences. These realms included: community, academic challenge in the real world, and deep experience of people and place. The research uses grounded theory as the overarching methodology to study data from an exploratory case study, as well as to guide the data collection and interpretation process. Objectives for this study were threefold: 1. Increase understanding of the impact of EL practices on its graduates, with specific emphasis placed on transformative learning experiences; 2. Investigate the process of transformative learning 3. Understand the relationship between EL graduates' TL experiences and sustainability-supportive qualities of graduates </p>

<p> Over the years, growing concerns for the environment have increased discourse regarding the problems and solutions to environmental crises. Messages in popular culture have implications for public perceptions of the environment and, as a result, impact how we interact with and understand our natural surroundings. While we understand the impact of rhetorical strategies in a general sense, research is needed when exploring how speaker credibility influences environmental messages. </p><p> This thesis explores two concepts: how credibility impacts environmental messages and the concept of speaking for the environment. I explore these concepts through a media-centered rhetorical criticism of the film, <i> The Lorax</i> (2012). I analyze seven selected scenes, drawing on McCroskey&rsquo;s (1966) scale of ethos and Spangle and Knapp&rsquo;s (1996) study of tactics and appeals. The analysis reveals several tactics used by the two main characters, the Lorax and Once-ler, to establish their credibility. How the Lorax and Once-ler establish or fail to establish credibility impacts the future state of the environment. Ethos is a key communication concept in speaking for the environment, as the way we speak and represent the environment has consequences for how we interact with the natural world.</p>

<p> This dissertation presents findings from an exploratory, phenomenological study that examined the dynamics of transformative experiences with nature through three lenses: the state of being of a person in a state of deep play, the human affinity for nature, and the human capacity to experience transformation. Stories were collected from fifteen people via semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that transformative experiences are comprised of five qualities that emerge as the moment unfolds. They are novelty, engagement, immersion, openness, and attunement. Our affinity for nature and our capacity for deep play foster the feelings and thoughts associated with each of these qualities. Other findings indicate that an experience does not occur in isolation but rather occurs in concert with other aspects of a person's life. Antecedents such as education, beliefs, and previous experiences influence how a person perceives of and interacts with an experience. The substantiation process influences how a person makes meaning of and integrates an event into her/his life. Significant moments with nature may influence a person's life in significant ways prompting changes in interests, careers, worldviews, and her/his relationship with nature. Findings demonstrate that the transformative experiences of the study participants shifted their engagement with nature toward a more nature oriented lifestyle. The findings of this study inform adventure education, outdoor and environmental education, transformational learning, and adult education. These finding also inform land development and management fields such as forestry, natural resource management, and urban planning and development.</p>

Thesis (M. Ed.(Environmental Education) -- University of Pretoria. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Env.St.)--University of Adelaide, Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 84-86.