Abstract
Engaging children in natural settings enhances learning, promotes early childhood development, and makes use of protected natural areas. Unfortunately, many schoolchildren, especially from economically disadvantaged areas, lack support for environmental education (EE) to develop skills and attitudes that increase rates of appropriate outdoor behaviors. Improved access to environmental education should reduce the amount of resource degradation that occurs when children visit protected natural areas. Many of these children’s depreciative behaviors can be classified as uninformed or unintentional (Hendee et al. 1990), implying that guided critical thinking
before they visit will enable them to make better choices when outdoors and raise awareness of situations that otherwise result in such behaviors (Roggenbuck 1992). This research project develops a model program of replicable, low-cost, widely accessible critical thinking activities and materials designed to directly address this problem.
Parent Publication
Citation
Baird, Laura E.; Park, Logan O. 2014. Testing tools for outdoor recreation, environmental education, and stewardship: Allowing children to choose the rules. In: Groninger, John W.; Holzmueller, Eric J.; Nielsen, Clayton K.; Dey, Daniel C., eds. Proceedings, 19th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; 2014 March 10-12; Carbondale, IL. General Technical Report NRS-P-142. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 269-270.