Measuring the Effectiveness of the Leave No Trace PEAK Program

This study describes a program developed with the coordination of four agencies to reconnect urban youth to nature by combining the best of each partner. Many urban youth are disconnected from nature. Recent studies show that youth only spend about 15-25 minutes daily outdoors recreating. Youth are now exposed to high-arousing stimuli from technology. Youth who spend time in nature have demonstrated improved test scores, self-discipline and have become more environmentally aware. Out of school time (OST) programs can provide an effective setting for outdoor-based programs. The Leave No Trace for Every Kid educational initiative focuses on educating youth about nature through a values and asset development. Partnering with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the YMCA, a public school, and a local university, an innovative program was launched using the stewardship curriculum in an after-school program.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bigfoot Inspires Youth: Teaching Leave No Trace through Afterschool Partnerships

Ahl,

Hill,

Leary

et al. 2022

“…Unfortunately, the long-term effects of these knowledge gains can vary. Youth participating in a Leave No Trace programs increased their knowledge immediately following the program; however, retention after 8 months significantly decreased (Miller et al, 2014).…”

Section: Journal Of Outdoor Recreation Education and Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Previous studies suggest that those who have more pro-social values or collective good values are more likely to engage in PEB; similarly, those who hold ecological worldviews more in line with ecocentrism versus anthropocentrism are more likely to engage in PEB (De Groot & Steg, 2008;Cameron et al, 1998, van Riper & Kyle, 2014. While worldviews and values are culturally rooted and highly invariable, education and outreach efforts (e.g., interpretation programs focused on children such as Junior Rangers, extended school programming, and immersive activities), show good success in influencing environmental issues and concerns in the long-term (Miller et al, 2014;Powell et al, 2018). The holistic emphasis on emotions, worldviews, and attitudes is slowly emerging in interpretive practice, as opposed to a reductionist emphasis on education (Gilson & Kool, 2019).…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are We Creatures of Logic or Emotions? Investigating the Role of Attitudes, Worldviews, Emotions, and Knowledge Gain From Environmental Interpretation on Behavioural Intentions of Park Visitors

Blye¹,

Hvenegaard²,

Halpenny³

2023

Environmental interpretation can improve sustainability by mitigating the negative impacts of nature-based recreation. However, we do not fully understand the psychological factors that influence interpretation’s efficacy in changing human behaviours. Specifically, the role of emotions has been understudied within environmental psychology and nature-based recreation. This study, therefore, provides further insight into the psychological processes driving pro-environmental behavioural intentions among overnight visitors attending personal interpretation programs in provincial parks in Alberta, Canada. In 2018 and 2019, we surveyed 763 attendees of personal interpretation events. We used latent variable structural regression modeling to test the hypothesized relationships between ecological worldview, attitudes, emotions, and pro-environmental behaviours. As predicted, there were positive relationships between worldviews, affective and cognitive attitudes, and emotions; these variables and knowledge gain were positively associated with pro-environmental behaviours. Findings suggest that interpretation should focus programming on the affective elements of communication, target personal meaning such as responsibility to act, and continue to transmit knowledge.

“…Among climbing populations, those people identifying as females and people of color sometimes showed greater knowledge of LNT than comparison categories (Maples et al, 2022). Perceptions and self-reported behaviors related to LNT have also been explored with youth (Miller et al, 2014), generally finding that education can influence attitudes and self-reported behaviors of children.…”

Section: Leave No Tracementioning

confidence: 99%

Leave No Trace and Sustainability Education: Taking a Dialectical Approach

North¹,

Berning²,

Karaka-Clarke³

et al. 2023

Leave No Trace (LNT) is globally the most widely accepted minimum impact program and has been linked to behavior change and the maintenance of a range of ecological measures. Critiques of LNT have emerged, including that LNT ignores wider impacts that contribute to climate change and diverse world views. Many outdoor education students carefully follow LNT practices. When students encounter these critiques, they often conclude either that LNT is effective and the detractors are misplaced or that LNT should be abandoned, thereby avoiding deep engagement. Education must prepare students for the contested project of creating a sustainable future. We argue that LNT shows considerable promise as a context for learning through dialectical approaches where students must engage with divergent articles and examples. LNT can be used to help students understand that taking informed action is important. LNT can also be used to show that there are no innocent actions.