Publication

The Impact of Environmental Education on Sense of Place Among Urban Youth

Description

Research suggests that an ecologically informed sense of place, including strong place attachment and ecological place meaning, contributes to pro-environmental behaviors. Yet it is unclear whether an intervention such as environmental education can intentionally influence sense of place, especially in cities. To investigate the impact of urban environmental education programs on sense of place, we used pre/post surveys of youth in 5-week environmental and non-environmental summer youth programs in the Bronx, New York City, in 2010. Results show that urban environmental education programs—which engaged urban high school students in environmental stewardship, recreation, environmental skills development, and environmental monitoring in the Bronx—were successful in nurturing ecological place meaning, but did not strengthen students’ place attachment. No significant changes in place attachment or place meaning were observed after non-environmental, control programs.

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PUBLICATION DETAILS

Type
Article
Author
A. Kudryavtsev
Marianne E. Krasny
Richard C. Stedman
Publisher
www.esajournals.org
Topic(s)
Evaluation
Sustainability and Scale-Up
Youth Motivation and Interests in STEM
File Attachment(s)
Publication Year
2012
Additional Disciplines
Environmental Science - general
Environmental Science - climate modeling
Environmental Science - ecological research and analysis
Environmental Science - GIS/GPS
Environmental Science - remote sensing technology