Understanding what drives environmentally protective or destructive behavior is important to the design and implementation of effective public policies to encourage people's engagement in proenvironmental behavior (PEB). Research shows that a connection to nature is associated with greater engagement in PEB. However, the variety of instruments and methods used in these studies poses a major barrier to integrating research findings. We conducted a meta-analysis of the relationship between connection to nature and PEB. We identified studies through a systematic review of the literature and used Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software to analyze the results from 37 samples (n = 13,237) and to test for moderators. A random-effects model demonstrated a positive and significant association between connection to nature and PEB (r = 0.42, 95% CI 0.36, 0.47, p < 0.001). People who are more connected to nature reported greater engagement in PEB. Standard tests indicated little effect of publication bias in the sample. There was significant heterogeneity among the samples. Univariate categorical analyses showed that the scales used to measure connection to nature and PEB were significant moderators and explained the majority of the between-study variance. The geographic location of a study, age of participants, and the percentage of females in a study were not significant moderators. We found that a deeper connection to nature may partially explain why some people behave more proenvironmentally than others and that the relationship is ubiquitous. Facilitating a stronger connection to nature may result in greater engagement in PEB and conservation, although more longitudinal studies with randomized experiments are required to demonstrate causation.Keywords: connectedness to nature, conservation behavior, ecological behavior, human-nature relationship Metaanálisis de la Conexión Humana con la Naturaleza y el Comportamiento a Favor del Ambiental Resumen: El entendimiento de los conductores del comportamiento de protección o destrucción ambien-* email julie.whitburn@vuw.ac.nz Article impact statement: Interventions designed to facilitate a stronger connection to nature may result in greater engagement in proenvironmental behavior.

Pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) may be associated with a personal relationship with nature. We conducted a quasi-experiment with 423 residents who had or had not actively participated in a tree-planting scheme and lived in 20 neighborhoods that differ in their greenness level. We tested whether exposure to nature (specified by the amount of vegetation cover in residents’ neighborhoods) and/or past PEB (specified by tree-planting participation) was associated with residents’ PEB and whether key psychological constructs would mediate these relationships. Structural equation mediation models revealed that the level of neighborhood vegetation and involvement in the planting scheme explained 46% of the variance in PEB, with connection to nature, the use of nature for psychological restoration, and environmental attitudes mediating the relationships. Connection to nature was more strongly associated with engagement in PEB than the use of nature for psychological restoration and environmental attitudes.

<p>The challenges ahead for sustainability and biodiversity conservation require a better understanding of the relationship human beings have with the natural environment. The evidence that nature has a positive influence on human wellbeing is extensive but there is uncertainty about the influence of urban vegetation in the immediate vicinity of residents’ homes. Current research is also inconclusive as to the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between nature, human wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour.  I investigated whether engagement with urban nature influenced the wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of residents of Wellington City, New Zealand. Engagement with nature was specified by the amount of vegetation cover in urban neighbourhoods and participation in a community-planting scheme. Wellbeing was assessed by measures of mental and physical health and satisfaction with life.  Firstly, I aimed to describe the population of people who participated in the community planting scheme and identify the motivation, barriers and benefits associated with participation.  Secondly, I aimed to test hypotheses about the relationship between urban residents and the natural environment using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM):  1. Exposure to vegetation in residents’ immediate neighbourhood and/or participation in the planting scheme has a positive influence on residents’ wellbeing and PEB. 2. The effect of nature on wellbeing or PEB is mediated by a number of socio-psychological constructs, such as Connection with Nature, use of nature for Psychological Restoration, Neighbourhood Satisfaction, (both social and natural aspects of the neighbourhood) and Environmental Attitude. PEB also mediates the nature-wellbeing relationship.  Finally, I wanted to determine if adding socio-demographic variables and the amount of time residents spent outdoors could improve the models.  A stratified random sample of 20 neighbourhoods across Wellington City was selected. The neighbourhoods varied in their amount and type of vegetation cover. The amount of vegetation cover was determined by site visits and using maps, with a 5 x 5 m ² grid, which showed vegetation cover and property boundaries. I quantified the mediator and wellbeing variables using existing measures, some of which were modified, and by developing some constructs based on the literature. The usefulness of these constructs was confirmed by an Exploratory Factor Analysis in SPSS.  I conducted a postal survey during October 2012 of 1200 households in the 20 neighbourhoods of Wellington City to test my hypotheses. Thirty-six percent of surveys were returned (N = 428) which resulted in 423 useable surveys.  Respondents who participated in the planting scheme were more likely to be married or in a partnership, highly educated and New Zealand Europeans. They also had a greater connection with nature, used nature more for psychological restoration and had stronger higher environmental attitudes and PEB those respondents who did not participle in the planting scheme. The most frequently reported barrier to participation was the lack of time and the most commonly reported benefits corresponded to the stated motivation, which was to improve the appearance of participants’ immediate neighbourhood.  A priori mediation models were specified. Structural Equation Modelling followed by Information Theoretic model selection and inference using Akaike Information Criterion identified the leading influences and tested the hypotheses for wellbeing and PEB. All the a priori models fitted the data. Model selection resulted in two parsimonious models being identified, the Wellbeing model and the Pro-environmental Behaviour model.  The Wellbeing model explained 16%, 13% and 3% of the variance in mental health, life satisfaction and physical health, respectively. Both the amount of neighbourhood vegetation and participation in the planting scheme were associated with the wellbeing measures. Neighbourhood Satisfaction (both nature and social), the use of nature for Psychological Restoration and Pro-environmental Behaviour were significant mediators.  The Pro-environmental Behaviour model explained 38% of the variance in PEB. Participation in the planting scheme was associated with increases in PEB but the level of neighbourhood vegetation was not. Connection with Nature was the sole mediator of the relationship between participation in the planting scheme and PEB.  Socio-demographic characterisations and the amount of time people spent outdoors were not necessary to explain wellbeing or PEB beyond the effect of neighbourhood vegetation or participating in the planting scheme.  A final combined model, Wellbeing +Pro-environmental Behaviour, explained more of the variance in mental health (22%), satisfaction with life (16%) and PEB (45%) than the individual Wellbeing and Pro-environmental Behaviour models but did not explain physical health. Connection with Nature and Environmental Attitude were additional mediators and the amount of neighbourhood vegetation level influenced PEB. The strength of the effects of vegetation level and the planting scheme on the wellbeing measures were about the same as in the Wellbeing model. This was a less parsimonious model.  I have demonstrated that the resources invested into greening Wellington City added significantly to the quality of residents’ lives, via their relationship with nature and increased wellbeing, and were associated with increases in PEB. I have identified mediators that synergistically facilitate the relationship between urban vegetation, a community planting scheme, PEB and human wellbeing and helped clarify the positive effect of vegetation in the immediate vicinity of residents’ homes on residents’ wellbeing. The effect of biologically depauperate neighbourhoods on residents’ quality of life requires further investigation.  My findings suggest the promotion of time in nature and increases in the amount of urban planting, particularly trees, may be an effective public health intervention and also result in increased PEB. The demonstrated diversity of nature’s benefits and value may provide motivation for greater investment in urban greening and broader conservation initiatives by government.</p>

<p>A personal relationship with nature, which develops in childhood, is associated with wellbeing benefits and greater engagement in pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) in adulthood. This thesis investigates the relationships between children’s connection to nature and their psychological wellbeing and engagement in PEB. It also tests whether nature-based environmental education can promote children’s connection to nature and engagement in PEB.  The first study is a meta-analysis of the relationship between connection to nature and PEB. This meta-analysis demonstrated a significant positive, moderately-sized association between connection to nature and PEB. Standard tests indicated little effect of publication bias. Univariate categorical analyses showed that the scales used to measure connection to nature and PEB were significant moderators of the relationship and explained the majority of the between-study variance. The geographic location of a study, age of participants and the percentage of females in a study were not moderators.  I then conducted a longitudinal quasi-experiment (with control groups) with children aged 7-13 years from schools who attended environmental education programmes in Wellington City, New Zealand (N = 324). Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire and a gifting experiment immediately before and four weeks after environmental education interventions. Structural equation modelling, followed by Information Theoretic model selection and inference was used to test theoretical models that explained how children’s connection to nature, and other variables of interest, were associated with their wellbeing (vitality and life satisfaction) or their engagement in PEB. Mixed-design ANOVAs tested whether environmental education influenced children’s connection to nature, PEB and wellbeing.  Structural equation models revealed that children’s connection to nature had a direct, positive association with their vitality, but not their life satisfaction. The children’s use of nature for psychological restoration had a direct, positive association with their vitality and their life satisfaction. The model explained 28% of the variance in vitality and 5% of the variance in life satisfaction. Models that contained socio-demographic variables were not well supported.  Connection to nature had a direct, positive relationship with PEB. Connection to nature mediated the relationship of environmental attitude and the use of nature for psychological restoration with engagement in PEB. Knowledge was not significantly related to PEB. This model explained 71% of the variance of children’s PEB. Models that contained socio-demographic variables were not well supported. Connection to nature had the strongest association with PEB of the variables tested.  Environmental education had no overall significant effect on children’s connection to nature, environmental attitudes, use of nature for psychological restoration, vitality or life satisfaction. However, the effect of environmental education on children’s connection to nature depended on their baseline level of connection to nature. Connection to nature increased after environmental education field-trips only in children with a relatively high baseline connection to nature. There was an increase in children’s PEB, species’ knowledge and financial support for conservation compared with children in the control group.  There are some limitations in this research. While the structural equation models imply directionality, they demonstrate correlational relationships between the variables. In addition, the survey data is collected by self-reports which can over-estimate associations between variables. A social desirability response bias, may also limit this research.  This research demonstrates the central importance of connection to nature for children’s psychological wellbeing and PEB. This thesis advances previous work by (i) providing a quantitative summary of the existing research to show there is a moderately-sized, positive association between individuals’ connection to nature and their engagement in PEB, (ii) advancing theory by demonstrating that children’s affective connection to nature is positively associated with greater psychological wellbeing and greater engagement in PEB and (iii) demonstrating empirically that while environmental education did not promote affective connection to nature in most children, it did increase their support for conservation and engagement in daily PEBs and their species’ knowledge. Promoting connection to nature has implications for motivating PEB and increasing wellbeing. Environmental education can influence knowledge and beliefs, but may not consistently promote affective connection to nature. Environmental education could incorporate experiences that stimulate children’s affective faculties to promote connection to nature.</p>

<p>The challenges ahead for sustainability and biodiversity conservation require a better understanding of the relationship human beings have with the natural environment. The evidence that nature has a positive influence on human wellbeing is extensive but there is uncertainty about the influence of urban vegetation in the immediate vicinity of residents’ homes. Current research is also inconclusive as to the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between nature, human wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour.  I investigated whether engagement with urban nature influenced the wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of residents of Wellington City, New Zealand. Engagement with nature was specified by the amount of vegetation cover in urban neighbourhoods and participation in a community-planting scheme. Wellbeing was assessed by measures of mental and physical health and satisfaction with life.  Firstly, I aimed to describe the population of people who participated in the community planting scheme and identify the motivation, barriers and benefits associated with participation.  Secondly, I aimed to test hypotheses about the relationship between urban residents and the natural environment using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM):  1. Exposure to vegetation in residents’ immediate neighbourhood and/or participation in the planting scheme has a positive influence on residents’ wellbeing and PEB. 2. The effect of nature on wellbeing or PEB is mediated by a number of socio-psychological constructs, such as Connection with Nature, use of nature for Psychological Restoration, Neighbourhood Satisfaction, (both social and natural aspects of the neighbourhood) and Environmental Attitude. PEB also mediates the nature-wellbeing relationship.  Finally, I wanted to determine if adding socio-demographic variables and the amount of time residents spent outdoors could improve the models.  A stratified random sample of 20 neighbourhoods across Wellington City was selected. The neighbourhoods varied in their amount and type of vegetation cover. The amount of vegetation cover was determined by site visits and using maps, with a 5 x 5 m ² grid, which showed vegetation cover and property boundaries. I quantified the mediator and wellbeing variables using existing measures, some of which were modified, and by developing some constructs based on the literature. The usefulness of these constructs was confirmed by an Exploratory Factor Analysis in SPSS.  I conducted a postal survey during October 2012 of 1200 households in the 20 neighbourhoods of Wellington City to test my hypotheses. Thirty-six percent of surveys were returned (N = 428) which resulted in 423 useable surveys.  Respondents who participated in the planting scheme were more likely to be married or in a partnership, highly educated and New Zealand Europeans. They also had a greater connection with nature, used nature more for psychological restoration and had stronger higher environmental attitudes and PEB those respondents who did not participle in the planting scheme. The most frequently reported barrier to participation was the lack of time and the most commonly reported benefits corresponded to the stated motivation, which was to improve the appearance of participants’ immediate neighbourhood.  A priori mediation models were specified. Structural Equation Modelling followed by Information Theoretic model selection and inference using Akaike Information Criterion identified the leading influences and tested the hypotheses for wellbeing and PEB. All the a priori models fitted the data. Model selection resulted in two parsimonious models being identified, the Wellbeing model and the Pro-environmental Behaviour model.  The Wellbeing model explained 16%, 13% and 3% of the variance in mental health, life satisfaction and physical health, respectively. Both the amount of neighbourhood vegetation and participation in the planting scheme were associated with the wellbeing measures. Neighbourhood Satisfaction (both nature and social), the use of nature for Psychological Restoration and Pro-environmental Behaviour were significant mediators.  The Pro-environmental Behaviour model explained 38% of the variance in PEB. Participation in the planting scheme was associated with increases in PEB but the level of neighbourhood vegetation was not. Connection with Nature was the sole mediator of the relationship between participation in the planting scheme and PEB.  Socio-demographic characterisations and the amount of time people spent outdoors were not necessary to explain wellbeing or PEB beyond the effect of neighbourhood vegetation or participating in the planting scheme.  A final combined model, Wellbeing +Pro-environmental Behaviour, explained more of the variance in mental health (22%), satisfaction with life (16%) and PEB (45%) than the individual Wellbeing and Pro-environmental Behaviour models but did not explain physical health. Connection with Nature and Environmental Attitude were additional mediators and the amount of neighbourhood vegetation level influenced PEB. The strength of the effects of vegetation level and the planting scheme on the wellbeing measures were about the same as in the Wellbeing model. This was a less parsimonious model.  I have demonstrated that the resources invested into greening Wellington City added significantly to the quality of residents’ lives, via their relationship with nature and increased wellbeing, and were associated with increases in PEB. I have identified mediators that synergistically facilitate the relationship between urban vegetation, a community planting scheme, PEB and human wellbeing and helped clarify the positive effect of vegetation in the immediate vicinity of residents’ homes on residents’ wellbeing. The effect of biologically depauperate neighbourhoods on residents’ quality of life requires further investigation.  My findings suggest the promotion of time in nature and increases in the amount of urban planting, particularly trees, may be an effective public health intervention and also result in increased PEB. The demonstrated diversity of nature’s benefits and value may provide motivation for greater investment in urban greening and broader conservation initiatives by government.</p>