Nature-based Excursions: School Students' Perceptions of Learning in Natural Environments

Abstract

Increasingly, environmental educators are incorporating visits to natural areas into their environmental learning programmes for school students. This paper investigates school students' expectations regarding environmental education experiences in natural areas and the attitudinal and behaviour changes they report as a result of their involvement in such programmes. Questionnaire responses from 580 students aged 8-17 years confirmed that learning in natural environments is attractive to students and has an important impact on their attitudes towards the environment, their desire to look after the environment, their behaviour in natural areas and their household environmental practices. It is concluded that combining observation with instruction is a powerful teaching strategy, especially when this allows students to understand the impact of human action on wildlife and natural habitats.