Rural Children's Views on Human Activities and Changes in a Greek Wetland

Abstract

We studied the views of Greek children about their likes=dislikes regarding changes to a protected wetland as a result of human activities. We focused on two primary-sector (i.e., fishing, harvest) and two ecotourism (i.e., bird watching, boat tour) activities as these reflect the contrast between traditional land uses and newly established management regimes. We used photos as visual aids for conducting structured interviews with 200 children aged 4 to 10 years. Fishing generated the most negative dispositions, although all activities elicited positive reactions by the majority of children. Our findings add to the existing literature on the image of nature as unchanging and the divide between nature and society in the views of rural children. Messages promoted in the study area through environmental management and education should address the fact that primary-sector activities are not incompatible with environmental conservation but can be transformed toward a more sustainable form.

Towards a Critical Re-Appraisal of Ecology Education: Scheduling an Educational Intervention to Revisit the ‘Balance of Nature’ Metaphor

“…What is more, it turned out to be that these ideas did not significantly change with a semester-long instruction in ecology. In other studies, with participants with totally different demographic characteristics (namely: rural inhabitants of protected areas), it turned out to be that they also tended to adopt an image of a balanced and unchanging nature (Hovardas 2005;Hovardas and Stamou 2006a;Korfiatis et al 2009).…”

Degradation of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia: A study of the environmental perceptions of school students

“…Furthermore, their environmental perception is shaped by both the material and discursive worlds in which they live, noting they access natural places for play, socialization and work (Korfiatis et al . ). Indeed, they will be the next generation of socioeconomic actors, with some also likely to become key political decision makers.…”

Conservation Reasoning and Proposed Actions for the Protection of Threatened Plant Species: Insights From a Sample of Rural and Urban Children of Cyprus

“…When conducting the interviews, we used photos as visual aids since they have proven most useful in minimizing semantic problems and serve as a common reference for the interviewer and the child (Korfiatis et al 2009;Palmer and Suggate 2004). Pictures of three threatened plants, included in the Red Data Book of Cyprus Flora as species of Community priority (Annex II Directive 92=43= EEC), were shown to each student.…”

“…There is some evidence that young people's ideas of the world, including their relationships with nature, develop at an early stage of their lives and may influence lifelong dispositions, attitudes, and behavior (Korfiatis et al 2009;Panelli and Robertson 2006).…”