Nature conservation from a Junior High School perspective

Nature conservation has a higher probability of being successful when it is backed by public support. This is influenced by knowledge and values, many of which may derive from school curricula, experiments and activities. We implemented a study in a Portuguese Junior High School aiming to evaluate: (1) which factors influence how people subscribe reasons for conserving nature; (2) the criteria used to identify conservation priority species; and, (3) the proposed recovery measures for priority species. A survey of 91 students in a suburban area revealed that nature conservation was regarded as being more important than tourism or industry, but less than values related to public health. Students who have close contacts with wildlife and whose parents have higher education levels exhibited positive attitudes towards nature conservation, which seems to derive from exposure to information related to nature, in their home environment. The criteria chosen to identify conservation priority species and to select appropriate conservation measures indicate that they are likely to be influenced by the media. These results emphasise that the relationship between parental education levels and access to information is an important factor in shaping urban students’ attitudes towards nature conservation.     

Rural and Urban Students’ Perceptions of and Attitudes toward Brown Bears in Turkey

Many studies have examined adults’ perceptions of and attitudes toward large carnivores to assess human–wildlife conflict and inform conservation strategies, but there have been few studies concerning children. I studied secondary school students’ perceptions of and attitudes toward brown bears (Ursus arctos) and other large mammals in Turkey via a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire, consisting of 18 questions, was completed by 215 rural and 98 urban secondary school students. Both sets of students liked bears; they were also afraid of them and unsure about living with them in the future. While there were no gender differences in attitudes and perceptions, there were marked differences between urban and rural students. Urban students had less contact with nature, gained more of their knowledge about bears from documentaries, and had less positive attitudes toward bears. They were also more likely to be afraid of species not present in Turkey, for example, anaconda, while rural students were most afraid of wild boars. Factor analysis identified three important themes: familiarity with bears, conservation of bears, and experiencing conflict with bears, which explained 49.8% of the variance in attitudes toward bears. The most important factor for the development of negative attitudes toward bears was personal experience of human–bear conflict, suggesting that measures to reduce human–bear conflict in rural areas may help to sustain students’ positive attitudes toward the conservation of bears.     

The Effect of Conservation Knowledge on Attitudes and Stated Behaviors toward Arthropods of Urban and Suburban Elementary School Students

Arthropods provide ecosystem services upon which humans depend, yet are declining across the globe. Arthropods are neglected from conservation efforts due to many factors that include a lack of understanding of their roles and conservation need. Knowledge gain of arthropod roles could therefore increase support for their conservation, albeit indirectly through attitude changes. Evidence suggests knowledge and attitudes are more highly correlated in children and that environmental attitudes are shaped before age 12 years. Differences in the connection between knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward arthropods may also be different in children from different cultures or from urban versus rural locations due to varying experiences with arthropods. We sought to understand if different types of knowledge increased positive attitudes and stated conservation-based behaviors toward insects in children in both urban and suburban schools. We conducted either a basic biology lesson or a conservation lesson on ecosystem services in both urban and suburban 4th and 5th grade classes, and used pre- and post-questionnaires to detect changes in knowledge, attitudes, and stated behavior toward arthropods. We found that urban students had significantly lower knowledge of, less positive attitudes toward, and fewer stated conservation behaviors toward arthropods but also exhibited the greatest positive changes when presented the conservation-based lesson. In addition, we found that being able to identify the type of arthropod correctly was related to more positive attitudes and stated behaviors. Finally, we found that while attitudes did not change toward some species, stated conservation behaviors did increase with knowledge of the arthropod’s role in the ecosystem. Education in urban schools, with a focus on both distinguishing arthropods as well as ecosystem services, provides the most change per effort for conservation. Arthropod lessons could be done by local professors and undergraduate students in urban classrooms or local green spaces.     

Positive sentiment and knowledge increase tolerance towards conservation actions

People generally possess certain basic ideas and values towards biodiversity, influencing their personal evaluation of a conservation situation or action and their attitude towards nature and its conservation. Here, we apply knowledge on human attitudes to an interesting socio-ecological system, the case of mitigating the devastating infectious amphibian disease chytridiomycosis in the Pyrenean Mountains, a touristic region. We conducted a questionnaire survey directly in mountain areas (n = 418) and on the internet (n = 868) to investigate whether attitudes towards amphibians influenced support of five possible conservation actions. We further analyzed whether attitudes were influenced by peoples’ use of the mountains, their socio-economic backgrounds, and their general knowledge of amphibians. Our study shows that all but one conservation measure were well accepted by the public. Importantly, the restrictions people would accept were linked to the attitudes the respondents had towards amphibians and how informed they were regarding the current status of amphibians. Our study highlights the importance of ensuring sufficient education and information for the public and suggests that it is necessary to explore and discuss several conservation options with the public before implementing conservation measures that may not be perceived equally.     

Developing successful conservation education programs as a means to engage local communities in protecting cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) in Colombia

Engaging children in developing countries to care for wildlife, and to make appropriate choices to protect wildlife, are challenging tasks. Proyecto Tití works to conserve the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), a critically endangered endemic monkey from Colombia, using a multi-disciplinary approach that focuses on scientific research, community empowerment, habitat protection, and conservation education to protect this species. Proyecto Tití has developed a multi-tiered methodology for education in rural communities that increases knowledge and understanding of the cotton-top tamarin and the threats to its survival, generates attitudes and behavior that support conservation, and provides opportunities to develop the future generation of conservation leaders in Colombia. We evaluated TITÍ KIDS and CARTITILLA, two of Proyecto Tití’s educational programs, measuring the knowledge gained by students before and immediately after the program. For CARTITILLA, we also measured the retention of knowledge after five years, and if the program developed pro-conservation attitudes and behaviors. We analyzed the evaluations of over 6000 students who participated in programs from 2011 to 2016, using a paired t-test. Students significantly increased their knowledge of cotton-top tamarins (p ≪ 0.01) and their ability to identify and classify domesticated and wild animals in their regions (p ≪ 0.01). Five years after participating in the CARTITILLA program, students had retained their knowledge about cotton-top tamarins and demonstrated attitudes and behavior that support cotton-top tamarin conservation. The educational programs of Proyecto Tití provide evidence that engaging youth in meaningful conservation activities can assist in the protection of cotton-top tamarins.     

Human attitudes towards herpetofauna: The influence of folklore and negative values on the conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Portugal

Background

Human values and folklore of wildlife strongly influence the effectiveness of conservation efforts. These values and folklore may also vary with certain demographic characteristics such as gender, age, or education. Reptiles and amphibians are among the least appreciated of vertebrates and are victims of many negative values and wrong ideas resulting from the direct interpretation of folklore. We try to demonstrate how these values and folklore can affect the way people relate to them and also the possible conservation impacts on these animals.

Methods

A questionnaire survey distributed to 514 people in the district of Évora, Portugal, was used to obtain data regarding the hypothesis that the existence of wrong ideas and negative values contributes to the phenomenon of human-associated persecution of these animals. A structural equation model was specified in order to confirm the hypothesis about the possible relationships between the presence of perceptions and negative values about amphibians and reptiles and persecution and anti-conservation attitudes. Sociodemographic variables were also added.

Results

The results of the model suggest that the presence of folklore and negative values clearly predicts persecution and anti-conservation attitudes towards amphibians and reptiles. Also, the existence of folklore varies sociodemographically, but negative values concerning these animals are widespread in the population.

Conclusions

With the use of structural equation models, this work is a contribution to the study of how certain ideas and values can directly influence human attitudes towards herpetofauna and how they can be a serious conservation issue.     

Assessing German farmers’ attitudes regarding nature conservation set-aside in regions dominated by arable farming

This paper presents an analysis of the attitudes of farmers towards a policy approach that combines the instrument of set-aside of farmland with agri-environmental measures under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for achieving nature goals. One of the stated objectives of current agricultural and environmental policies is to give greater consideration to issues of nature conservation in agricultural landscapes. To fulfil this objective, there is an urgent need to develop approaches that, on the one hand, are capable of delivering tangible improvements in the ecological situation and nature conservation in agriculture and, on the other hand, are structured in such a way that farmers are willing to put them into practice. In addition, such approaches need to be economical and affordable for society. The Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) has developed the concept of ‘nature-conservation set-aside’, especially for landscapes that are under predominantly arable use. Conservation set-aside refers to parts of arable farmland especially well suited to nature conservation, which are mandatorily withdrawn from agricultural production (for those who claim payment) and on which ecologically valuable habitats are created through specific management activities. To determine what kind of problems might arise for farmers in the course of implementing this concept as an agri-environmental measure, a survey was carried out in four largely arable regions of Germany. The results of this survey show the attitudes of German farmers regarding set-aside farmland for nature conservation in regions dominated by arable farming, and they demonstrate which factors influence the implementation of conservation set-aside.     

Shifting public values and what they mean for increasing democracy in wildlife management decisions

Over the last century, changing public attitudes about the value of wildlife have triggered substantial changes in species management that have both benefited and hindered conservation efforts. Understanding and integrating contemporary public values is therefore critical for effective conservation outcomes. Using historic and contemporary examples, we highlight how public attitudes—expressed through the media and campaigns—are shaping the management of introduced and native species, as values shift towards animal welfare and mutualism. We focus on the issue of deliberate human-caused killing of wildlife, because protests against such management have disrupted traditional political and management structures that favoured eradication of wildlife across many jurisdictions and ecological contexts. In doing so, we show that it is essential to work with multiple stakeholder interest groups to ensure that wildlife management is informed by science, while also supported by public values. Achieving this hinges on appropriate science communication to build a better-informed public because management decisions are becoming increasingly democratised.     

Charisma and conservation: charismatic megafauna’s influence on safari and zoo tourists’ pro-conservation behaviors

Annually, millions of tourists go on safari and visit zoos primarily to view large charismatic wildlife. These venues rely on the inherent appeal of these animals to increase visitation and anchor conservation efforts. In conservation campaigns, flagship species are used to stimulate a connection to a species and promote pro-conservation behaviors. However, empirical support for behavioral outcomes associated with flagships is lacking. Nor is it known how a connection to a species influences behaviors. This study explored (a) how tourists connect to wildlife, how this relationship is influenced by the on-site experience, and how these factors interact to influence behavior, and (b) how the experiences between safari and zoo venues differed. A model was developed using interactional theory and analyzed with structural equation modeling. Data were obtained from 416 tourists to Tanzanian parks and protected areas and 452 tourists to two U.S. zoos and one aquarium. An existing connection to wildlife and experiential factors directly influenced tourists’ connection to a species, but not behaviors. Tourists’ connection to a species had a significant positive influence on pro-conservation behaviors for individual species and general biodiversity. The influence of the experience was equivalent across safari and zoo venues. Results support the ability of safari and zoo wildlife tourism to produce conservation outcomes.     

Adolescents’ Experience and Knowledge of,and Attitudes toward,Bees: Implications and Recommendations for Conservation

Invertebrates are generally regarded with apathy, distaste, and fear in Western society. These negative sentiments likely contribute to the disparity in wildlife conservation efforts, which largely favor vertebrate organisms. Bees represent one of the most ecologically and economically important invertebrate groups, yet bee diversity and abundance is declining worldwide, mirroring the general decline of invertebrate biodiversity. Developing and implementing successful conservation efforts requires interdisciplinary research that considers the ecological and social realities of today’s world. To better inform conservation efforts related to bees, we examined adolescents’ experiences and knowledge of, and attitudes toward, bees and investigated how these dimensions related to one another. A total of 794 eighth-grade science students from the suburbs of Chicago, USA completed a 48-item, paper questionnaire. The results indicated that adolescents were only somewhat knowledgeable about bee biology and services, and they confused bees with other flying insects, especially those with black-and-yellow coloration. Adolescents regarded bees with a generally neutral attitude; their knowledge and attitudes were correlated in a positive manner. Various bee-related experiences were linked to adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes and may have influenced bee-related behavior. In particular, students who engaged in gardening and lawn-care activities demonstrated higher levels of knowledge and more positive attitudes. This study provides insight into the relationships between experiences and knowledge of, and attitudes toward, invertebrates and suggests that engaging in certain outdoor activities may promote positive attitudes toward bees among adolescents.     

Urban biodiversity in local newspapers: a historical perspective

Due to rapid urbanization the conservation and values of urban wildlife are becoming increasingly important study objects. Unfortunately, the lack of historical data makes it difficult to assess the effects of long-term urban land-use changes and human attitudes on local biodiversity. In this paper we show that old newspapers may in some cases provide useful historical data on both urban wildlife and local attitudes towards it. In the city of Turku, southwest Finland, the leading newspaper published 316 observations or reports on local urban mammals, birds and reptiles in 1890–1920, and in addition to these a lot of information on contemporary attitudes towards urban wildlife. At least 12 species of noncaptive mammals, 32 species of birds, and three reptile species were documented in newspapers. The newspaper data seem fairly reliable, and provide valuable information on the development of urban biodiversity. In the study period animals visiting urban areas were often persecuted, in which both adults and children (mainly schoolboys) participated actively. Birds were persecuted less frequently than mammals or reptiles. Some bird species, especially 'song-birds', were actively supported by winter-feeding and by constructing nest-boxes. According to newspapers local people were interested in local biodiversity, especially on phenological events, and benefited from it by getting esthetic pleasure, pet animals, and information on seasonal changes.     

Knowledge of,and Attitudes Towards Health-related Biotechnology Applications Amongst Australian Year 10 High School Students

Modern biotechnology has a large and rapidly increasing impact on society. New advances in genetics, stem cells and other areas hold great potential for human health but also presenting socioscientific issues that commonly divide public opinion. While knowledge is necessary to develop informed opinions about biotechnology, they may also be influenced by polarized discourse and fiction in the media. Here, we examined prior knowledge about and attitudes towards health-related biotechnological applications in Year 10 high school students from Western Australia using online questionnaires. The impact of teaching on students’ understanding was tested by repeating the questionnaire after a lesson. Finally, students’ argumentation skills were examined by recording responses to statements about biotechnological applications. We found that, prior to instruction, most students exhibited a reasonable understanding of biotechnology. There was little evidence for alternative conceptions, and instruction led to a diversification in understanding. Attitudes towards biotechnology were generally positive but varied. Despite interest in biotechnological issues, argument for positions was generally cognitive-affective in nature. Consequently, biotechnology is a relevant topic for science education, and presents excellent opportunities to build on pre-existing knowledge. Rather than expanding students’ knowledge, our results suggest educators should focus on deepening existing understanding and strengthening argumentation skills.     

Attitudes to Animal use in Children

ABSTRACT

Six hundred and fifty children, aged between 11 and 15 years, from an urban and a rural area, completed a questionnaire in which they provided information regarding their attitudes towards 13 issues involving the use of animals. Information regarding the pets the children owned was also obtained. The child's sex (male, female), age (11–15 years), and residence area (urban, rural) were related to pet ownership, and, including pet ownership, to attitudes towards the use of animals. Over 90% of the sample owned a pet, with the dog being the most common. More pets were owned by children from rural than urban areas. With regards to the animal-use issues, all the children discriminated between animal uses that lead to death of or injury to the animal and those regarded as exploitation. Children disagreed more with uses leading to the animal's death or injury. Females expressed more disagreement than males, and children from urban areas expressed more disagreement than children from rural settings. The study revealed pet ownership to be high among school children. This was matched by a high concern over activities leading to the animal's death or injury, indicating that strong attitudes to animal use are formed early during development. Early education may be important in shaping these attitudes.     

Urban indicators for UK butterflies

Most people live in urban environments and there is a need to produce abundance indices to assist policy and management of urban greenspaces and gardens. While regional indices are produced, with the exception of birds, studies of the differences between urban and rural areas are rare. We explore these differences for UK butterflies, with the intention to describe changes that are relevant to people living in urban areas, in order to better connect people with nature in support of conservation, provide a measure relevant to human well-being, and assess the biodiversity status of the urban environment.Transects walked under the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme are classified as urban or rural, using a classification for urban morphological zones. We use models from the Generalised Abundance Index family to produce urban and rural indices of relative abundance for UK butterfly species. Composite indices are constructed for various subsets of species. For univoltine and bivoltine species, where we are able to fit phenomenological models, we estimate measures of phenology and identify urban/rural differences. Trends in relative abundance over the period 1995–2014 are more negative in urban areas compared to rural areas for 25 out of 28 species. For the composite indices, all trends are negative, and they are significantly more negative for urban areas than for rural areas. Analysis of phenological parameters shows butterflies tend to emerge earlier in urban than in rural areas. In addition, some fly longer in urban than in rural areas, whereas in other cases the opposite is the case, and hypotheses are proposed to account for these features.Investigating new urban/rural indicators has revealed national declines that are stronger for urban areas. For continued monitoring, there is a need for an urban butterfly indicator, and for this to be evaluated and reported annually. We explain how this may be interpreted, and the relevance for other monitoring schemes. The results of this paper, including the phenological findings, shed new light on the potentially deleterious effects of urbanisation and climate change, which require suitable monitoring and reporting to support policy and management, for example of urban greenspaces and gardens.     

Instructional Integration of Disciplines for Promoting Children’s Positive Attitudes Towards Plants

Plants are an integral part of nature. Many plant species in almost any part of the world are under serious threats due to various reasons such as deforestation, pollution–of air, water and soil–caused by industrialisation, overgrazing and rapid population growth. It is likely that people have strong positive attitudes towards conservation of plants. This study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional approach based on integration of botany with chemistry and art on students’ attitude towards plants. This study was carried out in a science summer school for 10–12-years-old students (N = 49) in Turkey. The Plant Attitude Questionnaire was used as pre-test and post-test to assess the effects of the instruction on the students’ attitudes towards plants. Moreover, the participating children were asked to keep journals throughout the instruction. The children’s journals served as a data collection tool. The findings of the study indicated that integration of botany with chemistry and art is a good way to support children’s positive attitudes towards plants, particularly for an instructional approach based on the integration of plants with various disciplines to support children’s interest and enjoyment of plants. Also, this approach could offer children opportunities to understand the importance of plants in the living environments of humans and other organisms, and material benefits from plants in industry.     

Urban biodiversity, city-dwellers and conservation: how does an outdoor activity day affect the human-nature relationship?

Urban conservation education programs aim to increase knowledge and awareness towards biodiversity and to change attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. However, to date, few urban conservation education studies have evaluated to what extent these programs have managed to achieve their goals. In this study, we experimentally explored the influence of an urban conservation activity day on individual knowledge, awareness and actions towards biodiversity, in both the short and longer term.We organised three activity days in Paris (France), during which people were invited to participate in urban conservation efforts. Both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interviews) methods were employed to investigate the influence of this short urban nature experience on the relationships that city-dwellers develop with nearby biodiversity. We found a strong positive correlation between the levels of participation and an immediate interest towards local urban biodiversity. In the longer term, however, although participants claimed to have gained more knowledge, local awareness and interest for species in their daily environment, they did not seem to extend this interest to participating in other related activities. These results highlight the complexity of validating the effectiveness of this type of education program for achieving conservation goals. Although such a short activity may only have a limited environmental impact, it nevertheless seems to increase people's knowledge, awareness, interest and concern. We therefore believe that when repeated locally, these short conservation education programs could enhance people's experience with nature in cities and achieve conservation goals more fully.     

Attitudes toward forest diversity and forest ecosystem services—a cross-cultural comparison between China and Switzerland

Aims Despite the current interest in services provided by ecosystems and the role of biodiversity, the relationship among human attitudes, biodiversity and ecosystem services has hardly been investigated. Moreover, few studies have examined attitudes toward nature in cross-cultural comparisons. This study investigates the attitudes of Chinese and Swiss people, both environmental experts and laypersons, toward forest biodiversity and ecosystem services.Methods Overall, 640 people in China and Switzerland were interviewed with the help of a standardized questionnaire. In each country, the study population was equally divided into an urban (80 city dwellers and 80 environmental science students) and a rural (80 forest visitors and 80 farmers) study group. The 15-minute interviews took place in the cities of Beijing and Zurich and in the rural forested areas of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province and Lake Sempach, canton Lucerne. Attitudes toward forest biodiversity were investigated with the help of color photographs that depicted both monocultures and species-rich forests typical for China and Switzerland. Attitudes toward ecosystem services were investigated with the help of 13 statements on provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services of forests.Important findings On average, Chinese participants showed no strong preferences for biodiversity, whereas the Swiss clearly preferred species-rich forests over monocultures. However, Chinese environmental science students did prefer species-rich forests and attributed to them a higher conservation value because of their higher biodiversity. Although there were no strong preferences for Chinese versus Swiss forests, all participants correctly answered that Chinese forests are more species rich in terms of plants and animals and thus found them less boring and more interesting, but also less managed, than Swiss forests. All participants highly valued the ecosystem services provided by forests; especially the regulating and supporting ones. Environmental science students and farmers placed more importance on the provisioning services, whereas city dwellers and forest visitors emphasized more on the regulating services. The disjuncture between the high ecological quality of species-rich forests and their low attractiveness to Chinese study participants points to a potential conflict between conservation policies and the public's preferences. A better communication of ecosystem services provided by forest biodiversity to the public might change these preferences in favor of ecological quality, as already observed among Chinese environmental science students.     

Pediculosis among urban and rural school children in Kumba, Meme division, south-west Cameroon

Pediculosis is an important and common health problem in both urban and rural areas of Kumba. Out of a total of 2,312 children examined (1,462 urban and 850 rural), there was a rather disquieting overall infestation rate of 31.6% in the urban and 32.6% in the rural schools, respectively, and there was a much higher incidence of infestation among girls (36.3% urban, 35.1% rural) than boys (26.9% urban, 30.0% rural). Pubic infestation was more rampant among girls aged 13-15 years (0.3%) than boys (0.1%) of the same age-group, an age which coincides with the characteristic pubertal development of pubic hair. There was a higher incidence of lice infestation in the 9-12 year age-group (33.6% urban, 33.3% rural) than in both the 5-8 year age-group (29.3% urban, 31.6% rural) and the 13-18 year age-group (31.1% urban, and 31.7% rural). Given the nature of Cameroonian society with its African extended family system and its peculiar hospitality traits, it was not possible to correlate socioeconomic status of the children with their infestation rates. Additionally, the schools studied were not class-oriented thus social mixing occurred. Body hygiene has become a mere theoretical exercise in today's schools. Children are neither closely monitored for body cleanliness nor expelled for scandalously poor and unkempt hair and clothing. Inspection of children must be stepped up in order to improve these declining health standards.     

A Comparative Study on Nutritional Status and Body Composition of Urban and Rural Schoolchildren from Brandsen District (Argentina)

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether nutritional status and body composition varies according to the environment of residence (urban or rural) of children in the Brandsen district (Argentina). Weight, height, arm circumference and tricipital and subscapular skinfolds were performed in 1368 schoolchildren aged 3 to 14. NHANES III reference was used to estimate nutritional status -underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight, and obesity- and to evaluate body composition -deficit and excess of adipose (DA, EA) and muscular (DM, EM) tissues of the arm-. Central fat distribution (CFD) was estimated using the subscapular-tricipital index. A structured questionnaire was implemented to evaluate socio-environmental characteristics. Nutritional categories based on body size and body composition were compared between urban and rural areas of residence using Chi-squared tests (χ2). The results indicated for the total sample: 1.1% underweight, 6.9% stunting, 0.4% wasting, 12.1% overweight, 9.7% obesity, 22.0% DM, 2.5% EM, 0.1% DA, 17.6% EA, and 8.5% CFD. Significant differences between urban and rural areas were found only for CFD. The socio-environmental analysis showed that while access to public services and housing quality was significantly better in the urban area, a considerable number of city households lived under deficient conditions, lacked health insurance and had low socioeconomic level. Fifty-three percent of the undernourished children had DM without urban-rural significant differences, and none of them showed DA. In the overweight plus obesity group, 62.8% presented EA, 6.4% EM, 4.7% DM, and 22.8% CFD. The highest percentages of DM and CFD were recorded in rural areas (p = 0.00). We conclude that the child population shows the “double burden” of malnutrition. The environment of residence does not promote any differentiation in the nutritional status. Nevertheless, the increment of central adiposity and, in some cases of muscle deficit in rural children, suggests a consumption of unbalanced diet.