Abstract
In past research on significant life experiences (SLE) that influence environmental values and behaviors, a triad of experiences frequently emerge: free play and exploration in nature in childhood or youth, influential role models who communicate nature’s value, and opportunities to learn how to take action on nature’s behalf. This chapter opens with a review of past SLE research and theories of child development that predict these repeated findings. It also reports on an evaluation of family nature clubs (FNCs) – community-based organizations that regularly bring families together to enjoy nature together, creating conditions for families to share all three of these experiences that have been associated with care for the natural world. This study of more than 330 FNC leaders and participants found both quantitative and qualitative support for the effects of these formative experiences. Statistically significant survey results are complemented by ethnographic observations and interviews that offer insight into what happens during these experiences that makes them important and lasting in memory. The consistency between this study’s results, previous SLE research, and relevant concepts in the psychology of child development is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnold, H. E., Cohen, F. G., & Warner, A. (2009). Youth and environmental action. Journal of Environmental Education, 49(3), 27–36.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. New York: W. H. Freeman.
Bixler, R. D., James, J. J., & Vadala, C. E. (2011). Environmental socialization incidents with implications for the expanded role of interpretive naturalists in providing natural history experiences. Journal of Interpretation Research, 16(1), 35–64.
Blizard, C., & Schuster, J. (2004). They all cared about the forest. In: Proceedings of the Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium, GTR-NE-326, (pp. 57–63).
Carpenter, M., & Liebal, K. (2011). Joint attention, communication, and knowing together in infancy. In A. Seeman (Ed.), Joint attention (pp. 159–181). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Catling, S., Greenwood, R., Martin, F., & Owens, P. (2010). Formative experiences of primary geography educators. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 19(4), 341–350.
Ceaser, D. (2015). Significant life experiences and environmental justice. Environmental Education Research, 221(2), 205–220.
Chawla, L. (1998a). Significant life experiences revisited. Journal of Environmental Education, 29(3), 11–21.
Chawla, L. (1998b). Research methods to investigate significant life experiences. Environmental Education Research, 4(4), 383–397. (Reprinted in Environmental Education Research, (2006), 12(3–4), 359–374).
Chawla, L. (1999). Life paths into effective environmental action. Journal of Environmental Education, 31(1), 15–26.
Chawla, L. (2001). Significant life experiences revisited once again. Environmental Education Research, 7(3), 451–461.
Chawla, L. (2007). Childhood experiences associated with care for the natural world. Children, Youth and Environments, 17(4), 144–170.
Chawla, L. (2009). Growing up green. Journal of Developmental Processes, 4(1), 6–23.
Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433–452.
Chawla, L., & Derr, V. (2012). The development of conservation behaviors in childhood and youth. In S. Clayton (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of environmental and conservation psychology (pp. 527–555). New York: Oxford University Press.
Clayton, S. (2003). Environmental identity. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 45–65). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Colvin Williams, C., & Chawla, L. (2015). Identity formation in nonformal environmental education programs. Environmental Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2015/1055553
D’Amore, C. (2015). Family nature clubs: Creating the conditions for social and environmental connection and care. Doctoral dissertation, Prescott University, Arizona. Retrieved from ProQuest dissertations and theses.
D’Amore, C. (2016). Family nature clubs: An intergenerational opportunity to foster love of the natural world. Families, Relationships and Societies, 5(3), 431–446.
D’Amore, C., & Chawla, L. (2017). Many children in the woods: Applying principles of community based social marketing to a family nature club. Ecopsychology, 9(4), 232.
Dart, J., & Davies, R. (2003). A dialogical, story-based evaluation tool: The most significant change technique. American Journal of Evaluation, 24(2), 137–155.
Eisenberg, N. (1992). The caring child. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Eisenberg, N., & Eggum, N. D. (2008). Empathy-related and prosocial responding. In B. Sullivan, M. Snyder, & J. Sullivan (Eds.), Cooperation. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Evans, G., Otto, S., & Kaiser, F. (2018). Early origins of ecological behaviour. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741894. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797617741894#articleCitationDownloadContainer
Fisher, S. R. (2015). Life trajectories of youth committing to climate activism. Environmental Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2015.1007337
Furihata, S., Ishizaka, T., Hatakeyama, M., Hitsumoto, M., & Ito, S. (2007). Potentials and challenges of research on “significant life experiences” in Japan. Children, Youth and Environments, 17(4), 207–226.
Gebhard, U., Nevers, P., & Billmann-Mahecha, E. (2003). Moralizing trees. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 91–111). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin.
Hoffman, M. (2000). Empathy and moral development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Howell, R. A., & Allen, S. (2016). Significant life experiences, motivations and values of climate change educators. Environmental Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1158242
Hungerford, H., & Volk, T. (1990). Changing learner behaviour through environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education, 21(3), 8–21.
James, J. J., Bixler, R. D., & Vadala, C. E. (2010). From play in nature, to recreation then vocation. Children, Youth and Environments, 20(1), 231–256.
Juster, F., & Thomas E. (2004). Changing times of American youth: 1981–2003. University of Michigan Ann Arbor: Michigan. http://ns.umich.edu/Releases/2004/Nov04/teen_time_report.pdf
Kahn, P. H., Jr. (1999). The human relationship with nature. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Kempton, W., & Holland, D. (2003). Identity and sustained environmental practice. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 317–341). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Li, D., & Chen, J. (2015). Significant life experiences on the formation of environmental action among Chinese college students. Environmental Education Research, 21(4), 612–630.
Marcinkowski, T. (1988). An analysis of correlates and predictors of responsible environmental behavior. Doctoral dissertation, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dissertation Abstracts International, 1989, 49(12), 3677-A. UMI No. DEW89-03716.
Marcinkowski, T. (2001). Predictors of responsible environmental behavior. In H. Hungerford, W. Bluhm, T. Volk, & J. Ramsey, J. (Eds.), Essential readings in environmental education (pp. 247–276). Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing.
Maxim, P. (1999). Quantitative research methods in the social sciences. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mayer, F., & Frantz, C. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 503–515.
McClain, C., & Vandermaas-Peeler, M. (2016). Outdoor explorations with pre-schoolers. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 4(1), 37–53.
Melson, G. F. (2001). Why the wild things are. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Myers, O. E., Jr. (2007). The significance of children and animals (2nd ed.). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
Myers, O. E., Jr., & Saunders, C. (2002). Animals as links toward developing caring relationships with the natural world. In P. H. Kahn Jr. & S. R. Kellert (Eds.), Children and nature (pp. 153–178). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Palmer, J. A. (1993). Development of concern for the environment and formative experiences of educators. Journal of Environmental Education, 24(3), 26–30.
Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Payne, P. (1999). The significance of experience in significant life experiences research. Environmental Education Research, 5(4), 365–381.
Pearse, R., Goodman, J., & Rosewarne, S. (2010). Research direct action against carbon emissions. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies, 2(3), 76–103.
Peterson, N. J. (1982). Developmental variables affecting environmental sensitivity in professional environmental educators. Unpublished masters thesis, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Peterson, N. J., & Hungerford, H. R. (1981). Developmental variables affecting environmental sensitivity in professional environmental educators. In A. Sacks, L. Iozzi, J. Schultz, & R. Wilke (Eds.), Current issues in environmental education and environmental studies (Vol. 7, pp. 111–113). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.
Place, G. S. (2016). Yesterday’s conservationists. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 16(4), 359–371.
Rideout, V. (2010). Generation M: Media in the lives of 8–18 year-olds. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia030905pkg.cfm
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
Sia, A. P. (1984). An investigation of selected predictors of overt responsible environmental behavior. Doctoral dissertation, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dissertation Abstracts International, 1985, 46(3), 667-A. UMI No. DER85-10064.
Sia, A., Hungerford, H., & Tomera, A. (1985/86). Selected predictors of responsible environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Education, 17(2), 31–40.
Sivek, D. J. (2002). Environmental sensitivity among Wisconsin high school students. Environmental Education Research, 8(2), 155–170.
Sivek, D. J., & Hungerford, H. H. (1989/1990). Predictors of responsible environmental behaviors in members of three Wisconsin conservation organizations. Journal of Environmental Education, 21(2), 35–40.
Statistics Canada. (2009). Households and the environment, 2007, Catalogue no. 11-526-X.
Sward, L., & Marcinkowski, T. (2001). Environmental sensitivity: A review of the research. In H. Hungerford, W. Bluhm, T. Volk, & J. Ramsey (Eds.), Essential readings in environmental education (pp. 277–288). Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing.
Tanner, T. (1980). Significant life experiences. Journal of Environmental Education, 11(4), 20–24.
Tanner, T. (1998). Choosing the right subjects in significant life experiences research. Environmental Education Research, 4(4), 399–417.
Thomashow, M. (1995). Ecological identity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
UNESCO. (1980). The Tbilisi declaration: Final report of the intergovernmental conference on environmental education, Paris.
Wells, N. M., & Lekies, K. (2012). Children and nature: Following the trail to environmental attitudes and behaviors. In J. L. Dickinson & R. Bonney (Eds.), Citizen science: Public participation in environmental research (pp. 201–213). Ithaca, NY: Comstock Publishing Associates.
White, R. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66(5), 297–333.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
D’Amore, C., Chawla, L. (2018). Significant Life Experiences that Connect Children with Nature: A Research Review and Applications to a Family Nature Club. In: Cutter-Mackenzie, A., Malone, K., Barratt Hacking, E. (eds) Research Handbook on Childhoodnature . Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_49-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_49-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51949-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51949-4
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education