Childhood nature experiences on their own may not adequately predict adult nature connection, engagement, or environmental behaviors Research generally supports a positive link between childhood nature experiences (CNE) and pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) and ecological values during adulthood. Questions remain, however, as to how and to what extent these are linked. This study was designed to address some of these questions. It specifically explored the relationships between CNE and time spent in nature, nature exposure, landscape preferences, and PEB among adults.
The study involved two different groups of adults living in four urban centers in New Zealand. One group consisted of 230 adults, between the ages of 18 and 80. The adults in this group completed a survey (Survey 1) during one-on-one interviews focusing on how often they use public and private green and blue spaces, reasons for their visits, activities carried out in those space, and the qualities of the spaces they visited. Survey 1 also measured nature connection (using the Nature Relatedness Scale) and included a question focusing on the degree to which their family instilled the importance of being in nature. An open-ended question inviting additional thoughts about nature experiences during childhood was also a part of Survey 1. The other group consisted of 282 young adults, between the ages of 17 and 41. This group completed an on-line survey (Survey 2) focusing on their participation in pro-environmental activities. It also collected information relating to possible predictors of PEB, including values and awareness as these relate to green spaces, biodiversity, biodiversity conservation strategies, and biodiversity as it relates to human well-being.
Survey 1 results showed no significant link between CNE and time spent by adults in green and blue spaces nor with their exposure to biodiversity, an important indicator of quality of natural spaces. Survey 2 results showed a positive but weak association between CNE and willingness to engage in PEB. Survey 2 also found weak positive links between CNE and awareness of the term “biodiversity” and strategies to improve biodiversity, how biodiversity and urban green spaces are valued, and a belief in the wellbeing benefits of nature for people. While nature connection was positively and significantly linked with time spent in natural spaces and nature exposure, the association was weak. Some participants with low CNE values had high nature relatedness; others had high CNE values and high nature relatedness. Participants with the lowest nature-relatedness scores were more likely to refer to themselves as “indoor kids” and as not having had the experience of parents taking them to nature spaces.
The overall results of this research indicate that childhood time in nature was not a good predictor of time adults spend in natural spaces, their landscape preferences, or their likelihood of PEB. This research suggests that “growing up with little contact with nature doesn’t necessarily result in adults that are disconnected with nature.”
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