Publication: Quantifying plasticity of children's visions of nature
New research from WaterLANDS highlights how environmental education shapes children’s “visions of nature.” In a study with 120 schoolchildren (ages 11–12) in the Venice Lagoon, researchers developed a novel method to quantitatively measure how outdoor learning influences environmental perspectives. Using questionnaires and children’s artwork, the study assessed normative, cognitive, and emotional dimensions of how nature is perceived before and after a full day of hands-on environmental activities.
The findings show that while most children already held nature-centered views, outdoor education strengthened environmental awareness and emotional connection to nature among this group. Importantly, more children shifted from human-centered to nature-centered perspectives than the reverse. The results suggest that environmental education is especially effective at reinforcing pro-environmental attitudes in children who already feel connected to nature.
This scalable approach can be applied globally to evaluate the real impact of environmental education across diverse social–ecological systems.