Context shapes environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
Early experiences in nature can promote cognitive and emotional development, foster nature connectedness, and positively influence the ways that children view and interact with the natural world. Outdoor environmental education (OEE) programs offer children opportunities to spend time outdoors in structured learning contexts. Many OEE programs assume that they build environmental knowledge and foster pro-environmental attitudes and values, which, in turn, lead to sustainable behaviors. However, the evidence supporting this assumption is mixed.