This just in from InformeDesign, one of my favorite sources for information about Landscapes for Health (along with a ton of other good stuff): A new study by Louise Chawla at the University of Colorado, “Childhood Experiences Associated with Care for the Natural World: A Theoretical Framework for Empirical Results,” (2007).
You can get the low-down by clicking here (you may need to log in to InformeDesign, I’m not sure – it’s free, though, so if you’re a research hound, do it now!). Here’s a teaser…
This referenced position paper analyzed why childhood experiences of caring for nature and interacting with role models who are attentive to the environment influence environmental stewardship in adulthood.
- Previous studies have shown that positive childhood experiences caring for nature influence environmental stewardship in adulthood. The reasons these experiences lead to environmentalism has not been thoroughly investigated.
- Free play in natural environments with a variety of features (e.g., puddles, mud) provides limitless first-hand learning experiences (Reed, 1996) that encourage continued interaction with nature, teach children about how nature works, and demonstrate the human capacity to impact nature.