Children close to nature stimulates environmental concern in adulthood
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
By Flávia Natércia
Direct contact with nature in childhood tends to be positive and long lasting, which are reflected in the attitudes or behavior of adults that children will become. It was found that two researchers at Cornell University: Nancy Wells, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, and Kristi S. Lekies, the Department of Human Development. The work was published in the journal Children, Youth and Environments, University of Colorado, the United States.
Through interviews with 2 million people aged 18 to 90 years, the researchers tested the possible relationship between the degree of child involvement with nature and the attitudes and behavior on environmental issues in adulthood. Two major questions guided the research: "How can a child interact with the natural environment to begin shaping a life trajectory that includes concerns about environmental and ecological actions and what activities or events in youth can start a person on a path of life towards a commitment to behaviors and attitudes environmentally conscious? ".
Nancy and Kristi obtained in response to camps, playing in the woods, hunting and fishing are among the main activities to establish the foundations for a future environmentalist. But it also serves to pick flowers, planting trees or seeds and plant care at home, or contact the "tamed nature". Nancy warns, however, is not enough to expose children to interact with nature. "I think the exposure to the natural environment is needed throughout life. Although the childhood experiences with the wild seem particularly powerful in the development of environmentalism, any contact with nature is important - even that is in itself backyard or in magazines, television and posters, "he says.
However, the researcher points out that one should not confuse environmentalism with biophilia, a trend that some scientists believe human beings inevitably carry with them: that like animals and plants. His studies are part of a line of research aimed at understanding how the paths of life are built - what events, activities and experiences contribute to the attitudes they take in relation to health, poverty, career, environment? They seek, therefore, the "innate", if it exists, but what is "learned" in the relationship between man and nature: a sensitivity and a commitment to sow and develop on the basis of experience.
OUTDOOR
In previous studies, Nancy Wells had examined other aspects of the influence of nature on children. For example, the relationship of proximity with the "green" with the cognitive development and ability of children cope with stress and adversity. Studies of the same line, made from the 1980s by researchers from several areas, have emphasized the importance of playing away from home, participate in environmental education programs and have direct contact with nature to establish good habits health and sociability, and environmental awareness.
Source: Institute Alana
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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