Global ETD Search

1	Promoting Time in Nature for Children: Investigating the Role of Provider Nature Relatedness Gauderer, Lindsey 01 January 2015 (has links) Research has shown that time spent in and exposure to natural environments has numerous benefits for children, both physical and mental. At the same time, children face many barriers to obtaining time in the outdoors and today's youth spend less time outside than previous generations. Initiatives such as health care provider prescriptions for outdoor activity aim to encourage exposure to nature as a health intervention for children. In order to enhance the potential for success of programs such as these, factors influencing their implementation need to be assessed. This study aims to explore the impact that provider connectedness to nature, as measured by a validated connectedness to nature scale, has on the likelihood of utilizing a nature prescription program. This study is of descriptive correlational design utilizing a convenience sample of providers who participated in a park prescription program in the state of Vermont. Participants completed a survey that included a Nature Relatedness (NR) scale. These scores and responses were then analyzed in relationship to the number of nature prescriptions written during the program. Data analysis includes descriptive statistics, Pearson's r and Spearman's r and Multivariate MANOVA. Results from this study do not indicate a relationship between provider NR and utilization of a nature prescription program. Data from this study indicates that programs utilized by providers to promote time in nature, such as the park prescription program, may enhance provider awareness of the issue and likelihood to address the issue with their patients. This is an important finding for further initiatives aimed at increasing children's time in nature through their primary care providers. nature deficit disorder nature prescriptions nature relatedness Environmental Health and Protection Medicine and Health Sciences
2	An examination of the constraints to teaching and learning outdoors in public elementary and high schools in Winnipeg, Manitoba Light, Mallory 21 July 2016 (has links) Alternating traditional classroom-based teaching techniques with hands-on learning activities outdoors is beneficial for children of all ages. The purpose of this thesis was to explore whether and how teachers may negotiate the constraints to facilitating hands-on learning opportunities outdoors. A snowball sample was used to identify twelve outdoor educators for semi-structured interviews documenting their characteristics, skills and experiences, perceptions of the constraints to outdoor education and recommendations for building interest in and supporting outdoor education. The findings suggested that participants’ childhood experiences outdoors were influential on their decisions to start teaching outdoor education, and that the participants’ perceptions of the constraints varied dependent on their experiences, objectives and attitudes. The participants’ recommendations were focused on what teachers could do to help themselves and each other to succeed. Altogether, the participants’ experiences suggest that passionate and engaged outdoor educators can have a lasting impact on students’ relationships with the natural world. / October 2016 Outdoor education Nature deficit disorder Leisure constraints theory Biophilia Public education system
3	The Exclusive Frontier: Whiteness and the Settler Imagination in Last Child in the Woods Wyant, Jordan 11 January 2019 (has links) Spurred by Richard Louv’s bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit-Disorder (2005), a popular movement composed of parents, educators, and researchers has increasingly called for the reconnection of children and the natural environment. This thesis interrogates the cultural assumptions at work in this call to reconnect, specifically how an American frontier imagination structures Louv’s ideal form of connection. Drawing on scholarship from the fields of ecocriticism, environmental history, and American studies I assess the implications of Louv’s frontier framing for the project of reconnecting children to nature and for the broader field of environmental education. I argue that a frontier vision of connection with nature is at times exclusionary and escapist, and more troubling, has the potential to enforce social hierarchies invested in whiteness and the U.S. settler state. / 2020-01-11 Environmental education Frontier Nature-deficit disorder Race and nature Richard Louv Whiteness
4	Preliminary Assessment of the Relevance of Nature Centers in the 21st Century Higgins, Marian Ellen 2010 August 1900 (has links) In the 1960s a movement by the National Audubon Society encouraged growing communities to set aside a portion of undeveloped land to be used as nature centers to teach conservation and natural history while allowing people to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of nature. This research responds to the need for a greater understanding of who is visiting nature centers in the 21st century and why. A key question is whether or not nature centers have kept up with changing times and advancing technologies. No research has been conducted to determine if nature centers are still relevant today to a society accustomed to living and learning electronically in a virtual reality. In order to determine who visits nature centers and why, a questionnaire was developed and administered to Members and Non-members of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge (FWNC) of Fort Worth, TX. It was determined that visitors to the FWNC were not representative of the general population of the surrounding area. They were older, predominantly white, and had higher education levels. Using the membership in a Friends organization as a representative population of nature center visitors, it was determined that the Non-member visitors were similar to the Members except that they were younger. Members visited the FWNC with a higher degree of frequency than Non-members, but there was no difference in degree of visitation to other nature centers. Both groups identified "lack of time" as the primary barrier to increased visitation. Members appeared to be seeking specific, educational experiences compared to Non-members who tended to seek more general, recreational experiences. Members had more specific knowledge about benefits and services that the FWNC provided the community. Overall, both groups were satisfied with their visits, with Members having a more defined set of expectations and a higher level of satisfaction. This preliminary assessment suggests that nature centers continue to be a relevant source for education, recreation and relaxation, and continue to remain a unique resource in keeping 21st century society connected to the nature world. nature centers Fort Worth Nature Center visitor studies nature deficit disorder extinction of experience
5	School Gardens: Reconnecting Children with Nature and Food Boyle, Alyssa M 01 April 2013 (has links) This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens. First, two current environmental and societal problems are highlighted: the industrialized food system and what Richard Louv has termed, "Nature Deficit Disorder," in children. School gardens are then presented as an effective tool that can address and remedy such issues. Lastly, a how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools is provided as well as a few sample lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the garden in each subject across the curriculum. School Garden Industrialized Food System Nature Deficit Disorder Child Development Garden Curriculum Gardening Agriculture Child Psychology Curriculum and Instruction Other Education Other Nutrition Science and Mathematics Education Special Education and Teaching
6	Influences of Environmental Education Programs on the Participant's Affinity for Nature Schmillen, Justin Alan 01 June 2010 (has links) (PDF) This study was conducted to determine the change, and the factors influencing the change, in the participant’s affinity for nature resulting from an environmental education experience. In addition, this study also examined the change and factors of change in aspects of the participant’s affinity for nature that directly relate to marine and coastal resources and environments. An adapted version of the Affinity for Nature scale, an outcome measuring instrument used by the American Camp Association was used to collect data from participants (n=529) at Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School and Camp Ocean Pines, whose experience included an overnight component and a marine science component in the curriculum. Comparisons of overall mean scores were used to determine if affinity for nature changed due to participation in the environment education program. Analysis of variance was used to determine which participant characteristic and experiential variables had a significant influence on affinity for nature index scores. Findings indicated that participation in environmental education experience had a positive change on affinity for nature scores. Residence, ethnicity/language, and gender were also found to significantly influence sense of community various affinity for nature index scores. affinity for nature environmental education experiential education nature based experience biophilia hypothesis nature deficit disorder Natural Resources and Conservation Other Environmental Sciences Science and Mathematics Education
7	Landscapes to Learnscapes: Exploring Schoolyard-based Education Palena, Emily I., Spurgin, Caroline T. 01 April 2013 (has links) This thesis explores schoolyard-based education as a viable and necessary method for rectifying the shortcomings within the American public school system and the Nature-deficit Disorder epidemic. We argue that schoolyard-based education should be fully integrated into the school system, not in the sole form of popularized school gardens, but as a standard teaching method. We show this using extensive research and a case study of three elementary schools in Claremont, California. Schoolyard-based education learnscape environmental education environment as integrative context nature deficit disorder No Child Left Behind school gardens Curriculum and Instruction Disability and Equity in Education Educational Methods Educational Psychology Elementary Education and Teaching Other Education Other Political Science Science and Mathematics Education Secondary Education and Teaching
8	Can mindfulness enhance connectedness with nature? The case of in-depth nature experiences with adolescents McCloskey, Jake A. 03 May 2018 (has links) This thesis is an exploratory look into the use of mindfulness practice on in-depth nature experiences to determine if the practice has benefit to the participant, their outdoor experience, and overall connectedness with nature. An original research project examined three groups of adolescents from St. Michaels University School Outdoor Education program in Victoria, BC, Canada, as they hiked the Juan de Fuca trail. Two of the three groups undertook a simple mindfulness protocol to explore the outcomes. Based on participant-observation and interviews, mindfulness practice was determined to be a useful practice towards alleviating stress and anxiety associated with aspects of in-depth outdoor experiences, such as morning preparations. Participants who practiced mindfulness on the trip asked fewer questions about the future and remained present more often than those who did not practice mindfulness. A further finding was that there are aspects of mindfulness inherent in in-depth nature experiences, such as sitting around a fire. These inherent mindfulness moments should be encouraged as they provide benefit to trip experiences, and potentially towards greater connectedness with nature. Overall, this qualitative study suggests that mindfulness is a useful tool for the benefit of human well-being and nature connection. However, more research is needed to further identify the magnitude and mechanisms of the benefit. / Graduate mindfulness meditation sit spot mindfulness practice nature nature experience nature connection connectedness with nature human/nature connection nature association association with nature CWN nature affiliation biophilia nature deficit disorder attention restoration theory biophilia hypothesis psycho-evolutionary theory adolescent outdoor education nature education wilderness therapy adventure therapy qualitative nature experience in-depth nature experience stress-reduction anxiety reduction campfire hiking backcountry outdoor outdoors nature Mindfulness-based stress reduction MBSR

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